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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 Sweetwater (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 Sweetwater. 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.

Name Variations for Sweetwater ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

Another variation: Sweet Water.

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

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 southwest 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 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 west 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.

Sweetwater is located in Aiken 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 Aiken County: Burke (GA), Richmond (GA), Barnwell, Edgefield, Lexington, Orangeburg & Saluda.

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

  • Aiken County     (The home county of Sweetwater)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sweetwater, with the one closest to Sweetwater listed first.
    • Belvedere
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Belvedere have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belvedere
      • Belvedere is located in Aiken County
    • Springdale
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springdale
      • Springdale is located in Aiken County
    • North Augusta
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Bath
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Burnettown
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Burnettown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnettown
      • Burnettown is located in Aiken County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,769 people
    • Clearwater
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Graniteville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Vaucluse
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Gloverville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Langley
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Warrenville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Beech Island
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Huntcliff
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntcliff
      • Huntcliff is located in Aiken County
  • Edgefield County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sweetwater, with the one closest to Sweetwater listed first.
    • Murphys Estates
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Murphys Estates have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murphys Estates
      • Murphys Estates is located in Edgefield County
    • Colliers
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colliers
      • Colliers is located in Edgefield County
    • Trenton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Edgefield
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Johnston
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
  • McCormick County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sweetwater, with the one closest to Sweetwater listed first.
    • Clarks Hill
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Modoc
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Parksville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Plum Branch
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Liberty Hill
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Hill
      • Liberty Hill is located in McCormick County
    • McCormick
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Saluda County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sweetwater, with the one closest to Sweetwater listed first.
    • Ward
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Ridge Spring
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Saluda
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Burke County (GA)
    • Keysville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Columbia County (GA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sweetwater, with the one closest to Sweetwater listed first.
    • Memory Park
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Memory Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Memory Park
      • Memory Park is located in Columbia County (GA)
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 122 people
    • Lulaville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lulaville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lulaville
      • Lulaville is located in Columbia County (GA)
      • Estimated population in 2019: 2,961 people
    • Martinez
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Martinez have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martinez
      • Martinez is located in Columbia County (GA)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Martinez <2>
    • Lamkin
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lamkin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamkin
      • Lamkin is located in Columbia County (GA)
    • Snead
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Snead have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snead
      • Snead is located in Columbia County (GA)
      • Estimated population in 2019: 20,077 people
    • Arrow Head
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arrow Head
      • Arrow Head is located in Columbia County (GA)
    • Evans
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Fort Gordon
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Grovetown
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grovetown
      • Grovetown is located in Columbia County (GA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 16,639 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Grovetown <2>
    • Maddox
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maddox
      • Maddox is located in Columbia County (GA)
    • Appling
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Harlem
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlem
      • Harlem is located in Columbia County (GA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,547 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Harlem <2>
    • Sawdust
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sawdust
      • Sawdust is located in Columbia County (GA)
  • McDuffie County (GA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sweetwater, with the one closest to Sweetwater listed first.
    • Dearing
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dearing
      • Dearing is located in McDuffie County (GA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 529 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dearing <2>
    • Megahee
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Megahee have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Megahee
      • Megahee is located in McDuffie County (GA)
      • Estimated population in 2019: 1,031 people
    • Boneville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Richmond County (GA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sweetwater, with the one closest to Sweetwater listed first.
    • National Hills
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for National Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for National Hills
      • National Hills is located in Richmond County (GA)
    • Bonair
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bonair have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonair
      • Bonair is located in Richmond County (GA)
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 3,135 people
    • Augusta
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Rockbrook
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rockbrook have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockbrook
      • Rockbrook is located in Richmond County (GA)
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 160 people
    • Forest Hills
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Waverly
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waverly
      • Waverly is located in Richmond County (GA)
    • Southgate Village
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Southgate Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southgate Village
      • Southgate Village is located in Richmond County (GA)
    • Fleming Heights
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fleming Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fleming Heights
      • Fleming Heights is located in Richmond County (GA)
      • Estimated population in 2019: 717 people
    • Richmond Hills
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Richmond Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmond Hills
      • Richmond Hills is located in Richmond County (GA)
      • Estimated population in 2019: 13,839 people
    • Fairvale
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fairvale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairvale
      • Fairvale is located in Richmond County (GA)
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 6,769 people
    • Barton Village
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Barton Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barton Village
      • Barton Village is located in Richmond County (GA)
    • Belair
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Belair have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belair
      • Belair is located in Richmond County (GA)
    • Gracewood
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)

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

Newspapers Published in Sweetwater ...

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 121 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sweetwater.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sweetwater, there are papers which were published within 9 miles [14.5 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Sweetwater.

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 helpful 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 Sweetwater:

Cemeteries Near Sweetwater ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sweetwater.

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

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

  • Sweetwater Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Pineview Memorial Gardens
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pineview Memorial Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pineview Memorial Gardens
  • Meeting Grove Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Meeting Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Meeting Grove Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #70653 <4>
  • Young Macedonia Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Young Macedonia Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Young Macedonia Cemetery
  • Horne Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Horne Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Horne Cemetery
  • Hammond Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hammond Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hammond Cemetery
  • Carter Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Carter Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Carter Cemetery
  • Fields Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fields Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fields Cemetery
  • Sunset Hill Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Bath Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bath Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bath Cemetery
  • Sunset Memorial Gardens
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Williams Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • 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
  • Continue List   (287 more) ...
    • Nicholson Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Nicholson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Nicholson Cemetery
    • Thurmond Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Thurmond Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<5>
      • The Thurmond Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Thurmond - Reese Cemetery
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Thurmond Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #71520 <4>
    • Darling Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Darling Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Darling 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.<6>

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

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

  • Poverty Hill
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Poverty Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poverty Hill
    • Poverty Hill is located in Edgefield County
  • Lenoir ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lenoir have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lenoir
    • Lenoir is located in Edgefield County
  • Bath
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Morgana
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Morgana have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgana
    • Morgana is located in Edgefield County
  • Hamburg
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hamburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamburg
    • Hamburg is located in Aiken County
  • Langley
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Graniteville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Vaucluse
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Augusta
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Martinez
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Martinez have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martinez
    • Martinez is located in Columbia County (GA)
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Martinez <2>
  • Lamkin
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lamkin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamkin
    • Lamkin is located in Columbia County (GA)
  • Wheless
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wheless have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheless
    • Wheless is located in Richmond County (GA)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Beech Island
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Milledgeville ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Milledgeville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milledgeville
      • Milledgeville is located in Aiken County
    • Colliers
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colliers
      • Colliers is located in Edgefield County

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

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

The official website for Aiken County: www.aikencounty.net/

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Sweetwater) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Sweetwater. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.5857, Longitude: -81.9407       In this case, the coordinates for Sweetwater have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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>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.
<6>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 Sweetwater, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024