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 Ridge (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 Ridge. 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 Ridge ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Oak Ridge: Oak Rdg. (or less commonly used: Oak Rdge. or Oak Ridg.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Oak Ridge. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Oak Ridge.
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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.
Oak Ridge is located in Charleston 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 Charleston County: Berkeley, Colleton, Dorchester & Georgetown.
Below are the counties that are near Oak Ridge. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Oak Ridge:
- Charleston County (The home county of Oak Ridge)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- North Charleston
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Dorchester
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Dorchester is located in Charleston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorchester
- Essex Village
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Essex Village is located in Charleston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Essex Village
- Grove Creek Village
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Grove Creek Village is located in Charleston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grove Creek Village
- Old Town
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Old Town is located in Charleston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Town
- Charles Towne Village
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Charles Towne Village is located in Charleston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charles Towne Village
- Otranto
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Otranto is located in Charleston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otranto
- Charleston
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Johns Island
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- James Island
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- James Island is located in Charleston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for James Island
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,226 people
- Mount Pleasant
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Lincolnville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Lincolnville is located in Charleston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincolnville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,624 people
- Berkeley County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Hanahan
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Goose Creek
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Camelot Village
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Camelot Village is located in Berkeley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camelot Village
- Ladson
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Caromi Village
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Caromi Village is located in Berkeley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caromi Village
- Mount Holly
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Mount Holly is located in Berkeley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Holly
- Highland Village
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Highland Village is located in Berkeley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Village
- Wando
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Tarry Town
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Tarry Town is located in Berkeley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tarry Town
- Washington Town
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Washington Town is located in Berkeley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washington Town
- Cordesville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Huger
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Colleton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Jacksonboro
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Cottageville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Round O
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Edisto Beach
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Edisto Beach is located in Colleton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edisto Beach
- Population from the 2020 Census: 402 people
- Dorchester County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Chandler Village
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Chandler Village is located in Dorchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chandler Village
- Summerville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Flowertown Village
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Flowertown Village is located in Dorchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flowertown Village
- Brownsville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Brownsville is located in Dorchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsville
- Ridgeville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Dorchester
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Oak Ridge, see our County-by-County Page for Oak Ridge.
Cemeteries Near Oak Ridge ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Oak Ridge.
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 Ridge - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Oak Ridge covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Live Oak Memorial Gardens
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Riverview Memorial Park
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Carolina Memorial Gardens
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Castle Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Johnson Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Sunset Memorial Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Brown Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Adverse Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adverse Cemetery
- The Adverse Cemetery has also been known as:
- Calvary Baptist Church Cemetery
- Citadel Square Baptist Church Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #69384 <2>
- Emanuel AME Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Greek Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greek Cemetery
- The Greek Cemetery has also been known as:
- Greek Orthodox Cemetery
- Hughes Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (138 more) ...
- Bethany Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- St. Lawrence Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
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 Oak Ridge in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Oak Ridge.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Belvedere
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Belvedere is located in Berkeley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belvedere
- Charleston
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Otranto
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Otranto is located in Charleston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otranto
- James Island
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- James Island is located in Charleston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for James Island
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,226 people
- Ladson
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Pleasant
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Mount Holly
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Mount Holly is located in Berkeley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Holly
- Wando
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Summerville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Strawberry
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Strawberry is located in Berkeley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strawberry
- Long Ridge
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Long Ridge is located in Berkeley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Ridge
- Huger
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (6 more) ...
- Ridgeville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Moncks Corner
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Jacksonboro
(24 miles [38.6 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 Oak Ridge. See our List of 1890's Communities around Oak Ridge.
Newspapers Published in Oak Ridge ...
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 206 newspapers that have been published in the area around Oak Ridge.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Oak Ridge, there are papers which were published within 7 miles [11.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Oak Ridge.
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 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 Oak Ridge:
- Websites specific to South Carolina
- Pages specific to Charleston County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Berkeley County
- Colleton County
- Dorchester 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> | 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 Oak Ridge, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Oak Ridge) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |