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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 Switzerland (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 Switzerland. 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.

Switzerland is located in Jasper 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 Jasper County: Chatham (GA), Effingham (GA), Beaufort & Hampton.

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

  • Jasper County     (The home county of Switzerland)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Switzerland, with the one closest to Switzerland listed first.
    • Ridgeland
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Tillman
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Pineland
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Beaufort County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Switzerland, with the one closest to Switzerland listed first.
    • Okatie
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Hardeeville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Laurel Bay
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Laurel Bay is located in Beaufort County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Bay
    • Pritchardville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Pritchardville is located in Beaufort County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pritchardville
    • Seabrook
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Bluffton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Burton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Shell Point
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Shell Point is located in Beaufort County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shell Point
    • Battery Marina Village
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Polk Village
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Polk Village is located in Beaufort County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polk Village
    • Lobeco
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Sheldon
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Port Royal
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
  • Colleton County
    • White Hall
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • White Hall is located in Colleton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Hall
  • Hampton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Switzerland, with the one closest to Switzerland listed first.
    • Garnett
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Barkerville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Barkerville is located in Hampton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barkerville
      • Barkerville has also been known as:
      • Haywardville
    • Furman
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Early Branch
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Scotia
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Estill
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Varnville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Luray
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Hampton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Bulloch County (GA)
    • Hubert
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Hubert is located in Bulloch County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hubert
  • Chatham County (GA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Switzerland, with the one closest to Switzerland listed first.
    • Port Wentworth
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Port Wentworth Junction
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Port Wentworth Junction is located in Chatham County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Wentworth Junction
      • Estimated population in 2019: 9,641 people
    • Garden City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Chatham City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Chatham City is located in Chatham County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatham City
    • Robert M Hitch Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Robert M Hitch Village is located in Chatham County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robert M Hitch Village
    • Rossignol Hill
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Rossignol Hill is located in Chatham County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rossignol Hill
      • Estimated population in 2019: 4,009 people
    • Savannah
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Savannah is located in Chatham County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Savannah
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 143,632 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Savannah <1>
    • Woodville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Woodville is located in Chatham County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodville
      • Estimated population in 2019: 382 people
    • Alabama Junction
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Alabama Junction is located in Chatham County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alabama Junction
    • Carver Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Carver Village is located in Chatham County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carver Village
    • Florida Junction
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Florida Junction is located in Chatham County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florida Junction
    • Sharon Park
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Sharon Park is located in Chatham County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharon Park
      • Estimated population in 2019: 126 people
    • Bloomingdale
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Effingham County (GA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Switzerland, with the one closest to Switzerland listed first.
    • Haddonville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Haddonville is located in Effingham County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haddonville
      • Estimated population in 2019: 965 people
    • Two Sisters Ferry
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Two Sisters Ferry is located in Effingham County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Two Sisters Ferry
      • Estimated population in 2019: 3,063 people
    • Clyo
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Rincon
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Rincon is located in Effingham County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rincon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,655 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rincon <1>
    • Exley
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Exley is located in Effingham County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exley
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 2,894 people
    • Springfield
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Guyton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Guyton is located in Effingham County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guyton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,371 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Guyton <1>
    • Marlow
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Marlow is located in Effingham County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlow
    • Egypt
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Egypt is located in Effingham County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egypt
    • Eden
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Meldrim
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Switzerland ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Switzerland.

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

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

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

  • Mew Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Berton Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Grahamville Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Rhoden Ward Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Ridgeland Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Floyd Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Wrightfield Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Preference Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Arm Oak Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Strobhar Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Humberts Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Porter Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (179 more) ...
    • Partridge Hill Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • White Hardee Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Winkler Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 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.<3>

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

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

  • Ridgeland
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Tillman
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Okatie
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Hardeeville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Pritchardville
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Pritchardville is located in Beaufort County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pritchardville
  • Stillwell
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Stillwell is located in Effingham County (GA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stillwell
  • Bluffton
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Coosaw
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Coosaw is located in Beaufort County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coosaw
  • Clyo
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
  • Rincon
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Rincon is located in Effingham County (GA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rincon
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,655 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rincon <1>
  • Sheldon
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Springfield
    (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Port Royal
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Tomotley
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Tomotley is located in Beaufort County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tomotley
    • Garnett
      (18 miles [29 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 Switzerland. See our List of 1890's Communities around Switzerland.

Newspapers Published in Switzerland ...

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 Switzerland.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Switzerland, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Switzerland.

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 Switzerland:

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 Switzerland, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Switzerland) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.