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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 Simmonsville (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 Simmonsville. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and 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.

Simmonsville is located in Berkeley 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 Berkeley County: Charleston, Dorchester, Georgetown, Orangeburg & Williamsburg.

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

  • Berkeley County     (The home county of Simmonsville)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Simmonsville, with the one closest to Simmonsville listed first.
    • Jamestown
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Bethera
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Wrangle Town ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Wrangle Town is located in Berkeley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wrangle Town
    • Alvin
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Alvin is located in Berkeley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alvin
    • Huger
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Cordesville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Harris Town
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Harris Town is located in Berkeley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris Town
    • Bonneau
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Saint Stephen
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Russellville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Moncks Corner
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Pinopolis
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Tarry Town
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Tarry Town is located in Berkeley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tarry Town
  • Charleston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Simmonsville, with the one closest to Simmonsville listed first.
    • Awendaw
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Pineland
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Pineland is located in Charleston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pineland
    • McClellanville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Mount Pleasant
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Otranto
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Otranto is located in Charleston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otranto
  • Georgetown County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Simmonsville, with the one closest to Simmonsville listed first.
    • Sampit
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Sampit is located in Georgetown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sampit
    • Andrews
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Georgetown
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Steele Town
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Steele Town is located in Georgetown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steele Town
    • Willie Towne
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Willie Towne is located in Georgetown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willie Towne
    • Campfield
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Campfield is located in Georgetown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campfield
    • Allentown
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Allentown is located in Georgetown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allentown
    • Jackson
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Jackson is located in Georgetown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackson
  • Williamsburg County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Simmonsville, with the one closest to Simmonsville listed first.
    • Cedar Creek ‑ Historic
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Cedar Creek is located in Williamsburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Creek
    • Lane
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Lane is located in Williamsburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lane
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 443 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lane <1>
    • Snow Town
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Snow Town is located in Williamsburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snow Town
    • Salters
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Nesmith
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Rome
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Rome is located in Williamsburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rome
    • Greeleyville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Simmonsville ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Simmonsville.

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

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

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

  • St. James Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • New Hope Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Mt. Calvary Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Reed Corner Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Berea Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Bethel Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Halfway Creek Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Von Hollen Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Johnson Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Eccles Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Paul AME Church Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Oak Ridge Memorial Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Ridge Memorial Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Oak Ridge Memorial Cemetery is located
    • The Oak Ridge Memorial Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Bird Pond Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #69565 <2>
  • Continue List   (125 more) ...
    • Hickory Grove Pentecostal Holiness Church Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Edens Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Hoods Chapel Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)

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.<4>

While we didn't find Simmonsville in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Simmonsville.

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

  • Palmerville
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Palmerville is located in Berkeley County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmerville
  • Honey Hill
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Honey Hill is located in Berkeley County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honey Hill
  • Bethera
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Suttons
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Suttons is located in Williamsburg County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suttons
  • Sampit
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Sampit is located in Georgetown County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sampit
  • Alvin
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Alvin is located in Berkeley County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alvin
  • Huger
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Earle
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Earle is located in Williamsburg County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Earle
  • McClellanville
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Bethel
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Bethel is located in Georgetown County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
  • Trio
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Trio is located in Williamsburg County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trio
  • Graves
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Graves is located in Georgetown County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graves
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Bonneau
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Saint Stephen
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Macbeth
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Macbeth is located in Berkeley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macbeth

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

Newspapers Published in Simmonsville ...

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 41 newspapers that have been published in the area around Simmonsville.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Simmonsville, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Simmonsville.

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 Simmonsville:

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Simmonsville) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<4>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 Simmonsville, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.