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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 Providence (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 Providence. 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 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.

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

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

  • Orangeburg County     (The home county of Providence)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Providence, with the one closest to Providence listed first.
    • Wells
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Wells is located in Orangeburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wells
    • Santee
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Parler
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Parler is located in Orangeburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parler
    • Vance
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Vance is located in Orangeburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vance
      • 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 southeast)
    • Bowman
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Elloree
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Green Town
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Green Town is located in Orangeburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Town
    • Eutawville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Possum Town
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Possum Town is located in Orangeburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Possum Town
    • Ferguson ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Ferguson is located in Orangeburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferguson
    • Rowesville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Sixty Six
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Sixty Six is located in Orangeburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sixty Six
  • Bamberg County
    • Bamberg
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Berkeley County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Providence, with the one closest to Providence listed first.
    • Sandridge
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Sandridge is located in Berkeley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandridge
    • Eadytown
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Eadytown is located in Berkeley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eadytown
    • Cross
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Pineville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Region Town ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Region Town is located in Berkeley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Region Town
    • Washington Town
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Washington Town is located in Berkeley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washington Town
    • Judge Town
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Judge Town is located in Berkeley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Judge Town
  • Calhoun County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Providence, with the one closest to Providence listed first.
    • Cameron
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Cameron is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cameron
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 396 people
    • Creston
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Creston is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creston
    • Saint Matthews
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
  • Clarendon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Providence, with the one closest to Providence listed first.
    • Summerton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Panola
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Panola is located in Clarendon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panola
    • Davis Station
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Shad Moss village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Shad Moss village is located in Clarendon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shad Moss village
    • Silver
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Silver is located in Clarendon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver
    • Jordan
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Jordan is located in Clarendon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jordan
    • Paxville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Manning
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Alcolu
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Colleton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Providence, with the one closest to Providence listed first.
    • Johnsville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Johnsville is located in Colleton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnsville
    • Canadys
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Smoaks
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Sidney
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Sidney is located in Colleton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sidney
    • Ruffin
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Williams
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Dorchester County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Providence, with the one closest to Providence listed first.
    • Harleyville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Saint George
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Reevesville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Dorchester
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Grover
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Ridgeville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
  • Sumter County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Providence, with the one closest to Providence listed first.
    • Pinewood
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Sumter Junction
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Sumter Junction is located in Sumter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumter Junction

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

Cemeteries Near Providence ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Providence.

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

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

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

  • Lewis Shuler Family Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Shuler - Lewis Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Providence Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Martin Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Island Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Murcheys Landing Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Dantzler - Hart Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Providence Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Antioch Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Oak Grove Baptist Church Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Ebenezer Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Walnut Grove Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (211 more) ...
    • Duncan Chapel Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Corinth Baptist Church Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Bochette Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)

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 Providence in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Providence.

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

  • Dantzler
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Dantzler is located in Orangeburg County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dantzler
  • Wells
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Wells is located in Orangeburg County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wells
  • Felderville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Felderville is located in Orangeburg County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Felderville
  • Vance
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Vance is located in Orangeburg County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vance
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 153 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vance <1>
  • Parler
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Parler is located in Orangeburg County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parler
  • Bowman
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Holly Hill
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Elloree
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Connors ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Connors is located in Orangeburg County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Connors
  • Harleyville
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Reevesville
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Sandridge
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Sandridge is located in Berkeley County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandridge
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Saint Paul
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Saint Paul is located in Clarendon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Paul
    • Fifty Eight ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Fifty Eight is located in Orangeburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fifty Eight
    • Sixty Six
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Sixty Six is located in Orangeburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sixty Six

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

Newspapers Published in Providence ...

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 27 newspapers that have been published in the area around Providence.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Providence, 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 Providence.

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 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 Providence:

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 Providence, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Providence) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.