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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 Shell (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 Shell. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and 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.

Shell is located in Horry 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 Horry County: Brunswick (NC), Columbus (NC), Dillon, Georgetown & Marion.

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

  • Horry County     (The home county of Shell)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shell, with the one closest to Shell listed first.
    • Vina
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Vina. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vina
      • Vina is located in Horry County
    • Nixonville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Nixonville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nixonville
      • Nixonville is located in Horry County
    • Hickory Grove
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Grove
      • Hickory Grove is located in Horry County
    • Hand
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hand. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hand
      • Hand is located in Horry County
    • Cebu ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cebu have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cebu
      • Cebu is located in Horry County
    • Daisy
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daisy
      • Daisy is located in Horry County
    • Allen
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allen
      • Allen is located in Horry County
    • Gurley
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gurley
      • Gurley is located in Horry County
    • Conway
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Cochran Town
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cochran Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cochran Town
      • Cochran Town is located in Horry County
    • White Oak
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Oak
      • White Oak is located in Horry County
    • Little Town
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Little Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Town
      • Little Town is located in Horry County
    • Longs
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Georgetown County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shell, with the one closest to Shell listed first.
    • Murrells Inlet
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Inlet Oaks Village
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Inlet Oaks Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inlet Oaks Village
      • Inlet Oaks Village is located in Georgetown County
    • Carters Crossroads
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carters Crossroads
      • Carters Crossroads is located in Georgetown County
  • Marion County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shell, with the one closest to Shell listed first.
    • Nichols
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Rains
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Centenary
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Mullins
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Gresham
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
  • Brunswick County (NC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shell, with the one closest to Shell listed first.
    • Calabash
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calabash
      • Calabash is located in Brunswick County (NC)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,360 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Calabash <3>
    • Carolina Shores
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carolina Shores have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carolina Shores
      • Carolina Shores is located in Brunswick County (NC)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,802 people
    • Longwood
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Longwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longwood
      • Longwood is located in Brunswick County (NC)
    • Sunset Beach
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunset Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Beach
      • Sunset Beach is located in Brunswick County (NC)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,172 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sunset Beach <3>
    • Ash
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ash
      • Ash is located in Brunswick County (NC)
    • Ocean Isle Beach
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ocean Isle Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocean Isle Beach
      • Ocean Isle Beach is located in Brunswick County (NC)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 709 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ocean Isle Beach <3>
    • Exum
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Exum. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exum
      • Exum is located in Brunswick County (NC)
  • Columbus County (NC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shell, with the one closest to Shell listed first.
    • Tabor City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Ironhill
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ironhill. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ironhill
      • Ironhill is located in Columbus County (NC)
    • Pireway
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pireway. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pireway
      • Pireway is located in Columbus County (NC)
    • Pine Level
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pine Level have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Level
      • Pine Level is located in Columbus County (NC)
    • Emerson
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerson
      • Emerson is located in Columbus County (NC)
    • Bethel
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bethel. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
      • Bethel is located in Columbus County (NC)
    • Bug Hill
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bug Hill. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bug Hill
      • Bug Hill is located in Columbus County (NC)
    • Clarendon
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarendon
      • Clarendon is located in Columbus County (NC)
    • Nakina
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nakina
      • Nakina is located in Columbus County (NC)
    • Cribb Town
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cribb Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cribb Town
      • Cribb Town is located in Columbus County (NC)
    • Cedar Grove
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cedar Grove. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
      • Cedar Grove is located in Columbus County (NC)
    • Cerro Gordo
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cerro Gordo have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cerro Gordo
      • Cerro Gordo is located in Columbus County (NC)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 195 people
    • Brunswick
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Shell ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Shell.

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

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

  • Chestnut Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Chestnut Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Chestnut Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Graham Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Graham Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Graham Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Reaves Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Reaves Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Reaves Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Grainger Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Grainger Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Grainger Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • New Home Church Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the New Home Church Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the New Home Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Fox Branch Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fox Branch Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fox Branch Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pleasant Grove Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Grove Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Gause Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gause Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gause Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hamilton Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hamilton Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hamilton Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Thompson Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Thompson Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Thompson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Stevens Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Stevens Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Stevens Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hardee Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hardee Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hardee Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (199 more) ...
    • Cherry Hill Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cherry Hill Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cherry Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Cane Branch Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Thompkins Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Thompkins Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Thompkins 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 Shell in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Shell.

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

  • Hammond
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hammond have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hammond
    • Hammond is located in Horry County
  • Nixonville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Nixonville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nixonville
    • Nixonville is located in Horry County
  • Hand
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hand. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hand
    • Hand is located in Horry County
  • Privetts
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Privetts have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Privetts
    • Privetts is located in Horry County
  • Adrian
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Adrian have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adrian
    • Adrian is located in Horry County
  • Daisy
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daisy
    • Daisy is located in Horry County
  • Gurley
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gurley
    • Gurley is located in Horry County
  • Conway
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Bayboro
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bayboro have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayboro
    • Bayboro is located in Horry County
  • Wampee
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wampee have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wampee
    • Wampee is located in Horry County
  • Loris
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Vaught
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vaught have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vaught
    • Vaught is located in Horry County
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Toddville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Toddville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toddville
      • Toddville is located in Horry County
    • Finklea
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Finklea. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Finklea
      • Finklea is located in Horry County
    • Dothan
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dothan have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dothan
      • Dothan is located in Columbus County (NC)

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

Newspapers Published in Shell ...

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 25 newspapers that have been published in the area around Shell.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Shell, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Shell.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 Shell:

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

The official website for Horry County: www.horrycounty.org/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<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>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Shell, 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- Shell) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Shell. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.9024, Longitude: -78.9134       In this case, the coordinates for Shell have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 30 Mar 2025