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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Shell is located in Horry 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 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)
- Vina is located in Horry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vina
- Nixonville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Nixonville is located in Horry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nixonville
- Hickory Grove
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Hickory Grove is located in Horry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Grove
- Hand
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Hand is located in Horry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hand
- Cebu ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Cebu is located in Horry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cebu
- Daisy
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Daisy is located in Horry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daisy
- Allen
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Allen is located in Horry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allen
- Gurley
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Gurley is located in Horry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gurley
- Conway
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Cochran Town
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Cochran Town is located in Horry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cochran Town
- White Oak
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- White Oak is located in Horry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Oak
- Little Town
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Little Town is located in Horry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Town
- 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)
- Inlet Oaks Village is located in Georgetown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inlet Oaks Village
- Carters Crossroads
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Carters Crossroads is located in Georgetown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carters Crossroads
- 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)
- Carolina Shores
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Carolina Shores is located in Brunswick County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carolina Shores
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,802 people
- Longwood
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Longwood is located in Brunswick County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longwood
- Sunset Beach
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Ash
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Ash is located in Brunswick County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ash
- Ocean Isle Beach
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Exum
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Exum is located in Brunswick County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exum
- 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)
- Ironhill is located in Columbus County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ironhill
- Pireway
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Pireway is located in Columbus County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pireway
- Pine Level
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Pine Level is located in Columbus County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Level
- Emerson
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Emerson is located in Columbus County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerson
- Bethel
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Bethel is located in Columbus County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- Bug Hill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Bug Hill is located in Columbus County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bug Hill
- Clarendon
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Clarendon is located in Columbus County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarendon
- Nakina
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Nakina is located in Columbus County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nakina
- Cribb Town
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Cribb Town is located in Columbus County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cribb Town
- Cedar Grove
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Cedar Grove is located in Columbus County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
- Cerro Gordo
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Cerro Gordo is located in Columbus County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cerro Gordo
- 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.
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 Shell - one of the links might be able to help.
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)
- Graham Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Reaves Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Grainger Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- New Home Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Fox Branch Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Pleasant Grove Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Gause Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Hamilton Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Thompson Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Stevens Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Hardee Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (200 more) ...
- Cherry Hill Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Cane Branch Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Thompkins Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
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 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)
- Hammond is located in Horry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hammond
- Nixonville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Nixonville is located in Horry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nixonville
- Hand
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Hand is located in Horry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hand
- Privetts
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Privetts is located in Horry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Privetts
- Adrian
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Adrian is located in Horry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adrian
- Daisy
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Daisy is located in Horry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daisy
- Gurley
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Gurley is located in Horry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gurley
- Conway
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Bayboro
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Bayboro is located in Horry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayboro
- Wampee
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Wampee is located in Horry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wampee
- Loris
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Vaught
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Vaught is located in Horry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vaught
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Toddville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Toddville is located in Horry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toddville
- Finklea
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Finklea is located in Horry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Finklea
- Dothan
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Dothan is located in Columbus County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dothan
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]<4>. 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 first turn to 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 Shell:
- Websites specific to South Carolina
- Pages specific to Horry County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Georgetown County
- Marion County
- Brunswick County
- Columbus 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 Shell, 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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Shell) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |