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 Oak Grove (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 Oak Grove. 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 Oak Grove ...
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 occur.
Another variation: Oakgrove.
- A typical abbreviation for Oak Grove: Oak Grv.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Oak Grove. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Oak Grove.
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.
Oak Grove is located in Calhoun 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 Calhoun County: Clarendon, Lexington, Orangeburg, Richland & Sumter.
Below are the counties that are near Oak Grove. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Oak Grove:
- Calhoun County (The home county of Oak Grove)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Grove, with the one closest to Oak Grove listed first.
- Saint Matthews
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Cameron
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Cameron is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cameron
- Population from the 2020 Census: 396 people
- Creston
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Creston is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creston
- Aiken County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Grove, with the one closest to Oak Grove listed first.
- Perry
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Salley
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Wagener
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Seivern
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Seivern is located in Aiken County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seivern
- Camp Rawls
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Camp Rawls is located in Aiken County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camp Rawls
- Barnwell County
- Whaley
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Whaley is located in Barnwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whaley
- Kershaw County
- Elgin
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Lancaster County
- Springdale
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Lexington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Grove, with the one closest to Oak Grove listed first.
- Gaston
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Swansea
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Glenn Village
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Glenn Village is located in Lexington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenn Village
- Pineridge
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Pineridge is located in Lexington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pineridge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,419 people
- Styx ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Styx is located in Lexington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Styx
- South Congaree
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- South Congaree is located in Lexington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Congaree
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,485 people
- Cayce
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Springdale
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Springdale is located in Lexington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springdale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,732 people
- West Columbia
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Arthur
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Arthur is located in Lexington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arthur
- Oak Grove
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Oak Grove is located in Lexington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Pelion
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Orangeburg County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Grove, with the one closest to Oak Grove listed first.
- Woodford
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Woodford is located in Orangeburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 169 people
- North
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Jamison
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Jamison is located in Orangeburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamison
- Boiling Spring ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Boiling Spring is located in Orangeburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boiling Spring
- Livingston
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Livingston is located in Orangeburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Livingston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 124 people
- Stilton
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Stilton is located in Orangeburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stilton
- Wren Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Wren Village is located in Orangeburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wren Village
- Neeses
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Orangeburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Wilkinson Heights
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Wilkinson Heights is located in Orangeburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilkinson Heights
- Brookdale
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Brookdale is located in Orangeburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookdale
- Bolen Town
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Bolen Town is located in Orangeburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolen Town
- Richland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Grove, with the one closest to Oak Grove listed first.
- Pinewood
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Pinewood is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinewood
- Hopkins
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Weston
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Weston is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weston
- Gadsden
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Arthurtown
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Arthurtown is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arthurtown
- Bruner
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Bruner is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruner
- Capitol View
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Capitol View is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Capitol View
- Valencia Heights
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Valencia Heights is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valencia Heights
- Hollywood
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Hollywood is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollywood
- Columbia
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Forest Acres
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Forest Acres is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Acres
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,269 people
- Brickyard Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Brickyard Village is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brickyard Village
- Sumter County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Grove, with the one closest to Oak Grove listed first.
- Sumter Junction
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Sumter Junction is located in Sumter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumter Junction
- Wedgefield
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Claremont
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Claremont is located in Sumter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claremont
- Stateburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Stateburg is located in Sumter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stateburg
- Horatio
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Pinewood
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Cane Savannah
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Cane Savannah is located in Sumter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cane Savannah
- Oakland
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Oakland is located in Sumter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Oak Grove, see our County-by-County Page for Oak Grove.
Cemeteries Near Oak Grove ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Oak Grove.
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 Oak Grove - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Oak Grove covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Oak Grove, with the one closest to Oak Grove listed first.
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Mt. Moriah Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Kaigler Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Sardis Baptist Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Zion Pilgrim Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Bethel Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Bethel Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Myers Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Trinity UMC Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- St. Johns Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- St. Pauls Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (236 more) ...
- St. Pauls Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Neese Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Rock Hill AME Church Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
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 Oak Grove in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Oak Grove.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Oak Grove, with the one closest to Oak Grove listed first.
- Swansea
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Gaston
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Weston
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Weston is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weston
- Hopkins
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Woodford
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Woodford is located in Orangeburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 169 people
- Childs
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Childs is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Childs
- Gadsden
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Pineridge
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Pineridge is located in Lexington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pineridge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,419 people
- North
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Matthews
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Congaree
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Congaree is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Congaree
- Cayce
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Columbia
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Jamison
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Jamison is located in Orangeburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamison
- Arthur
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Arthur is located in Lexington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arthur
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Oak Grove. See our List of 1890's Communities around Oak Grove.
Newspapers Published in Oak Grove ...
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 174 newspapers that have been published in the area around Oak Grove.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Oak Grove, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Oak Grove.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we start with 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 Oak Grove:
- Websites specific to South Carolina
- Pages specific to Calhoun County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Aiken County
- Barnwell County
- Kershaw County
- Lancaster County
- Lexington County
- Orangeburg County
- Richland County
- Sumter County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for South Carolina
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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Oak Grove) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <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 Oak Grove, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |