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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 Stokes (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 Stokes. 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 hospitals and doctors 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.

Stokes is primarily located in Clarendon County. A portion of Stokes extends into Sumter 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 Clarendon County: Berkeley, Calhoun, Florence, Orangeburg, Sumter & Williamsburg.

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

  • Clarendon County     (The home county of Stokes)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Stokes, with the one closest to Stokes listed first.
    • Paxville
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Silver
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Silver is located in Clarendon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver
    • Alcolu
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Panola
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Panola is located in Clarendon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panola
    • Manning
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Summerton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Davis Station
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Gable
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Jordan
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Jordan is located in Clarendon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jordan
    • Sardinia
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Shad Moss village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Shad Moss village is located in Clarendon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shad Moss village
    • New Zion
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Turbeville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Berkeley County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Stokes, with the one closest to Stokes listed first.
    • Eadytown
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Eadytown is located in Berkeley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eadytown
    • Region Town ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Region Town is located in Berkeley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Region Town
    • Judge Town
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Judge Town is located in Berkeley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Judge Town
    • Pineville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Calhoun County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Stokes, with the one closest to Stokes listed first.
    • Creston
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Creston is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creston
    • Cameron
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Cameron is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cameron
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 396 people
    • Saint Matthews
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
  • Florence County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Stokes, with the one closest to Stokes listed first.
    • Olanta
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Cartersville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Cartersville is located in Florence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cartersville
    • Sardis
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Sardis is located in Florence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sardis
  • Lee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Stokes, with the one closest to Stokes listed first.
    • Atkins
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Atkins is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atkins
    • Elliott
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Lynchburg
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Manville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Manville is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manville
  • Orangeburg County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Stokes, with the one closest to Stokes listed first.
    • Elloree
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Santee
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Parler
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Parler is located in Orangeburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parler
    • Ferguson ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Ferguson is located in Orangeburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferguson
    • Vance
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • 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>
    • Eutawville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Green Town
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Green Town is located in Orangeburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Town
    • Possum Town
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Possum Town is located in Orangeburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Possum Town
    • Wells
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Wells is located in Orangeburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wells
    • Jamison
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jamison is located in Orangeburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamison
    • Wren Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Wren Village is located in Orangeburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wren Village
  • Richland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Stokes, with the one closest to Stokes listed first.
    • Eastover
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Gadsden
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Weston
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Weston is located in Richland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weston
    • Bruner
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Bruner is located in Richland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruner
    • Pinewood
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Pinewood is located in Richland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinewood
  • Sumter County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Stokes, with the one closest to Stokes listed first.
    • Lakewood
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Lakewood is located in Sumter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakewood
    • Privateer
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Privateer is located in Sumter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Privateer
    • Pinewood
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Ashley Creek Village
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Ashley Creek Village is located in Sumter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashley Creek Village
    • Millwood
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Millwood is located in Sumter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millwood
    • South Sumter
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • South Sumter is located in Sumter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Sumter
    • East Sumter
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • East Sumter is located in Sumter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Sumter
    • Sumter
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Cane Savannah
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Cane Savannah is located in Sumter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cane Savannah
    • Mulberry
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Mulberry is located in Sumter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mulberry
    • Wedgefield
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Sumter Junction
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Sumter Junction is located in Sumter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumter Junction
    • Cherryvale
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Cherryvale is located in Sumter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherryvale
  • Williamsburg County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Stokes, with the one closest to Stokes listed first.
    • Greeleyville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Terrell Crossroad
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Terrell Crossroad is located in Williamsburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terrell Crossroad
    • Kingstree
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Moore Crossroads
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Moore Crossroads is located in Williamsburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moore Crossroads

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

Cemeteries Near Stokes ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Stokes.

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

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

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

  • Home Branch Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Reynolds Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Calvary & Zion Hill Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calvary & Zion Hill Cemetery
    • The Calvary & Zion Hill Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Calvary Baptist Church Cemetery
    • Zion Hill Cemetery
  • Marshall Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Bradford Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Calvary Baptist Church Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Hillside Memorial Park
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Wood Chapel Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Smith Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Dargon Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Ridgill Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Jones Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (187 more) ...
    • Gadson Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Sumter Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Fellowship Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)

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

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

  • Tindal
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Tindal is located in Sumter County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tindal
  • Brogdon
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Brogdon is located in Sumter County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brogdon
  • Privateer
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Privateer is located in Sumter County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Privateer
  • Silver
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Silver is located in Clarendon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver
  • Harvin
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Harvin is located in Clarendon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvin
  • Panola
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Panola is located in Clarendon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panola
  • Alcolu
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Manning
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Cane Savannah
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Cane Savannah is located in Sumter County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cane Savannah
  • Rimini
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Rimini is located in Clarendon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rimini
  • Summerton
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Davis Station
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Wedgefield
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Saint Paul
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Saint Paul is located in Clarendon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Paul
    • Jordan
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Jordan is located in Clarendon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jordan

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

Newspapers Published in Stokes ...

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 32 newspapers that have been published in the area around Stokes.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Stokes, there are papers which were published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Stokes.

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 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 Stokes:

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 Stokes, 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- Stokes) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.