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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 Saint Matthews (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 Saint Matthews. 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 Saint Matthews ...

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 have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Saint Matthews: St. Matthews

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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most 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.

Saint Matthews is located in Calhoun County and is the County Seat.

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 Calhoun County: Clarendon, Lexington, Orangeburg, Richland & Sumter.

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

  • Calhoun County     (The home county of Saint Matthews)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saint Matthews, with the one closest to Saint Matthews listed first.
    • Cameron
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cameron have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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
    • Creston
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Aiken County
  • Bamberg County
  • Clarendon County
  • Lancaster County
  • Lexington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saint Matthews, with the one closest to Saint Matthews listed first.
    • Swansea
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Gaston
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Glenn Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Glenn Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenn Village
      • Glenn Village is located in Lexington County
    • Pineridge
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Cayce
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • South Congaree
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Congaree have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Congaree
      • South Congaree is located in Lexington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,485 people
    • Styx ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Styx have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Styx
      • Styx is located in Lexington County
    • Springdale
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Pelion
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • West Columbia
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Arthur
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Arthur. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arthur
      • Arthur is located in Lexington County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Arthur
      • From Saint Matthews to Arthur
    • Oak Grove
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oak Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
      • Oak Grove is located in Lexington County
  • Orangeburg County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saint Matthews, with the one closest to Saint Matthews listed first.
    • Jamison
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Stilton
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Wren Village
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wren Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wren Village
      • Wren Village is located in Orangeburg County
    • Brookdale
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brookdale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookdale
      • Brookdale is located in Orangeburg County
    • Wilkinson Heights
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wilkinson Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilkinson Heights
      • Wilkinson Heights is located in Orangeburg County
    • Orangeburg
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Elloree
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Edisto
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edisto have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edisto
      • Edisto is located in Orangeburg County
    • Cordova
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Parler
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Bolen Town
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bolen Town have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolen Town
      • Bolen Town is located in Orangeburg County
    • North
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
  • Richland County
  • Sumter County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saint Matthews, with the one closest to Saint Matthews listed first.
    • Sumter Junction
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sumter Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumter Junction
      • Sumter Junction is located in Sumter County
    • Pinewood
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Wedgefield
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Privateer
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Privateer have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Privateer
      • Privateer is located in Sumter County
    • Cane Savannah
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cane Savannah have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cane Savannah
      • Cane Savannah is located in Sumter County
    • Claremont
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Stateburg
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stateburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stateburg
      • Stateburg is located in Sumter County
    • Ashley Creek Village
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ashley Creek Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashley Creek Village
      • Ashley Creek Village is located in Sumter County
    • Cherryvale
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cherryvale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherryvale
      • Cherryvale is located in Sumter County
    • Horatio
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Lakewood
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lakewood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakewood
      • Lakewood is located in Sumter County
    • Oakland
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oakland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland
      • Oakland is located in Sumter County

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

Cemeteries Near Saint Matthews ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Saint Matthews.

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 Saint Matthews covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • West End Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the West End Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the West End Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • First Assembly of God Church Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Hubbard Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hubbard Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hubbard Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mt. Carmel Baptist Church Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Carmel Baptist Church Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Carmel Baptist Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Prospect Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Prospect Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Prospect Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Crestview Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Crestview Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Crestview Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Goodin Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Goodin Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Goodin Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jones Chapel Baptist Church Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Jones Chapel Baptist Church Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Jones Chapel Baptist Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Calvary AME Church Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Calvary AME Church Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Calvary AME Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Belleville Memorial Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Belleville Memorial Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Belleville Memorial Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bull Swamp Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bull Swamp Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bull Swamp Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mt. Lebanon Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (241 more) ...
    • Limestone UMC Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Limestone UMC Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Limestone UMC Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • St. Stephen Church Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Stephen Church Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Stephen Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Mt. Calvary Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Calvary Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Calvary Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Saint Matthews had a population of 524 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Saint Matthews had a population of 1,903 people.

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

  • Jamison
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Stilton
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Gadsden
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Elloree
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Weston
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Weston. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weston
    • Weston is located in Richland County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Weston
    • From Saint Matthews to Weston
  • Rimini
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rimini have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rimini
    • Rimini is located in Clarendon County
  • Felder
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Felder have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Felder
    • Felder is located in Orangeburg County
  • Congaree
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Congaree have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Congaree
    • Congaree is located in Richland County
  • Hopkins
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
  • North
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
  • Felderville
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Felderville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Felderville
    • Felderville is located in Orangeburg County
  • Parler
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Swansea
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Woodford
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Woodford. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodford
      • Woodford is located in Orangeburg County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 169 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Woodford
      • From Saint Matthews to Woodford
    • Boiling Spring ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Boiling Spring have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boiling Spring
      • Boiling Spring is located in Orangeburg County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Saint Matthews ...

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 28 newspapers that have been published in the area around Saint Matthews.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Saint Matthews. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Saint Matthews and those printed in the larger area surrounding Saint Matthews.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<6> of Saint Matthews.

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 Saint Matthews:

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

The official website for State of South Carolina: https://sc.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Saint Matthews, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Saint Matthews) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Saint Matthews. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.6644, Longitude: -80.7772    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 22 Apr 2025