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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 Sumter (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 Sumter. 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 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.

Sumter is located in Sumter 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 Sumter County: Calhoun, Clarendon, Florence, Kershaw, Lee & Richland.

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

  • Sumter County     (The home county of Sumter)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sumter, with the one closest to Sumter listed first.
    • South Sumter
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Sumter have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Sumter
      • South Sumter is located in Sumter County
    • East Sumter
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Sumter have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Sumter
      • East Sumter is located in Sumter County
    • Mulberry
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mulberry have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mulberry
      • Mulberry is located in Sumter County
    • Millwood
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Millwood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millwood
      • Millwood is located in Sumter County
    • Ashley Creek Village
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • 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
    • Lakewood
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • 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
    • Oswego
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oswego
      • Oswego is located in Sumter County
    • Cane Savannah
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • 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
    • Privateer
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • 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
    • Cherryvale
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • 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
    • Mayesville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Dalzell
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Calhoun County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sumter, with the one closest to Sumter listed first.
    • Creston
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creston
      • Creston is located in Calhoun County
    • Saint Matthews
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Clarendon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sumter, with the one closest to Sumter listed first.
    • Paxville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Alcolu
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Sardinia
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Gable
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Silver
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver
      • Silver is located in Clarendon County
    • Manning
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • New Zion
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Turbeville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Panola
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Panola have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panola
      • Panola is located in Clarendon County
    • Union Crossroads
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Crossroads
      • Union Crossroads is located in Clarendon County
    • Summerton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Davis Station
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
  • Darlington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sumter, with the one closest to Sumter listed first.
    • Lamar
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamar
      • Lamar is located in Darlington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 930 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lamar <2>
    • Lydia
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Alexander Crossroads
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexander Crossroads
      • Alexander Crossroads is located in Darlington County
    • Syracuse
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Syracuse
      • Syracuse is located in Darlington County
  • Florence County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sumter, with the one closest to Sumter listed first.
    • Cartersville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cartersville
      • Cartersville is located in Florence County
    • Olanta
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Sardis
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sardis have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sardis
      • Sardis is located in Florence County
    • Timmonsville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Cusac Crossroads
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cusac Crossroads
      • Cusac Crossroads is located in Florence County
    • Jones Crossroads
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jones Crossroads
      • Jones Crossroads is located in Florence County
    • Salem
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem
      • Salem is located in Florence County
  • Kershaw County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sumter, with the one closest to Sumter listed first.
    • Camden
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Log Town ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Log Town have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Log Town
      • Log Town is located in Kershaw County
    • Spring Village
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Village
      • Spring Village is located in Kershaw County
    • Lugoff
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Lafayette Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lafayette Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lafayette Village
      • Lafayette Village is located in Kershaw County
  • Lee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sumter, with the one closest to Sumter listed first.
    • Atkins
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Atkins have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atkins
      • Atkins is located in Lee County
    • Manville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manville
      • Manville is located in Lee County
    • Elliott
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Lynchburg
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Bishopville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Alcot
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alcot
      • Alcot is located in Lee County
  • Orangeburg County
    • Elloree
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Richland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sumter, with the one closest to Sumter 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)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Weston have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weston
      • Weston is located in Richland County
    • Bruner
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruner
      • Bruner is located in Richland County
    • Pinewood
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinewood
      • Pinewood is located in Richland County
    • Hopkins
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Williamsburg County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sumter, with the one closest to Sumter listed first.
    • Terrell Crossroad
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terrell Crossroad
      • Terrell Crossroad is located in Williamsburg County
    • Moore Crossroads
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moore Crossroads
      • Moore Crossroads is located in Williamsburg County
    • Greeleyville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Sumter ...

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 22 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sumter.

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 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 Sumter:

Cemeteries Near Sumter ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sumter.

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

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

  • Sumter Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sumter Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sumter Cemetery
  • Green Acres Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Jones Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Jones Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Jones Cemetery
  • Webb Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Webb Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Webb Cemetery
  • Evergreen Memorial Park
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Evergreen Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Evergreen Memorial Park
  • Gadson Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gadson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gadson Cemetery
  • Dargon Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Dargon Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dargon Cemetery
  • White Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the White Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the White Cemetery
  • Singleton Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Singleton Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Singleton Cemetery
  • White - Dick Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the White - Dick Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the White - Dick Cemetery
  • Wood Chapel Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wood Chapel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wood Chapel Cemetery
  • Wheeler Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wheeler Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wheeler Cemetery
  • Continue List   (165 more) ...
    • Reams Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Reams Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Reams Cemetery
    • Mitchel Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mitchel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mitchel Cemetery
    • Williams Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Williams Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Williams Cemetery

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

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

  • Cane Savannah
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • 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
  • Tindal
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tindal have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tindal
    • Tindal is located in Sumter County
  • Oswego
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oswego
    • Oswego is located in Sumter County
  • Privateer
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • 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
  • Brogdon
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brogdon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brogdon
    • Brogdon is located in Sumter County
  • Mayesville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Wedgefield
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Catchall
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Catchall have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catchall
    • Catchall is located in Sumter County
  • Harvin
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harvin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvin
    • Harvin is located in Clarendon County
  • Alcolu
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Claremont
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Claremont have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claremont
    • Claremont is located in Sumter County
  • Sardinia
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Atkins
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Atkins have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atkins
      • Atkins is located in Lee County
    • Silver
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver
      • Silver is located in Clarendon County
    • Rembert
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)

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

The official website for Sumter: www.sumtersc.gov/

The official website for Sumter County: www.sumtercountysc.org/

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>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 Sumter, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024