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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 Taft (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 Taft. 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 southwest 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 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.

Taft is located in Williamsburg 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 Williamsburg County: Berkeley, Clarendon, Florence, Georgetown & Marion.

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

  • Williamsburg County     (The home county of Taft)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Taft, with the one closest to Taft listed first.
    • Lane
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • 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>
    • Salters
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Kingstree
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Cedar Creek ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Cedar Creek is located in Williamsburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Creek
    • Greeleyville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Snow Town
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Snow Town is located in Williamsburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snow Town
    • Nesmith
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Cades
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Indiantown
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Indiantown is located in Williamsburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indiantown
    • Rome
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Rome is located in Williamsburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rome
    • Stuckey
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Stuckey is located in Williamsburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stuckey
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 217 people
    • Moore Crossroads
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Moore Crossroads is located in Williamsburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moore Crossroads
    • Terrell Crossroad
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Terrell Crossroad is located in Williamsburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terrell Crossroad
  • Berkeley County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Taft, with the one closest to Taft listed first.
    • Alvin
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Alvin is located in Berkeley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alvin
    • Harris Town
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Harris Town is located in Berkeley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris Town
    • Saint Stephen
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Russellville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Judge Town
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Judge Town is located in Berkeley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Judge Town
    • Region Town ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Region Town is located in Berkeley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Region Town
    • Jamestown
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Pineville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Bonneau
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Wrangle Town ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Wrangle Town is located in Berkeley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wrangle Town
    • Bethera
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Eadytown
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Eadytown is located in Berkeley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eadytown
    • Pinopolis
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
  • Clarendon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Taft, with the one closest to Taft listed first.
    • Union Crossroads
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Union Crossroads is located in Clarendon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Crossroads
    • Shad Moss village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Shad Moss village is located in Clarendon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shad Moss village
    • Jordan
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Jordan is located in Clarendon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jordan
    • New Zion
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Gable
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Manning
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Sardinia
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Davis Station
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Alcolu
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Turbeville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Florence County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Taft, with the one closest to Taft listed first.
    • Wren Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Wren Village is located in Florence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wren Village
    • Lake City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Scranton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Hannah
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Hannah is located in Florence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hannah
    • Johnsonville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Georgetown County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Taft, with the one closest to Taft listed first.
    • Andrews
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Willie Towne
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Willie Towne is located in Georgetown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willie Towne
    • Sampit
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Sampit is located in Georgetown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sampit
    • Allentown
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Allentown is located in Georgetown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allentown
    • Carters Crossroads
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Carters Crossroads is located in Georgetown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carters Crossroads
    • Campfield
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Campfield is located in Georgetown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campfield
    • Georgetown
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Steele Town
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Steele Town is located in Georgetown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steele Town
  • Orangeburg County
    • Ferguson ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Ferguson is located in Orangeburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferguson

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

Cemeteries Near Taft ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Taft.

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

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

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

  • Union Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Sutton Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Marion Memorial Garden Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Salters Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Betaw Plantation Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Spring Gully Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Sunset Memorial Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Keller Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Harmony Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • McClary Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • St. Stephens Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Stephen Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (203 more) ...
    • Edens Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Oak Ridge Memorial Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • 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>
    • Bloomingvale Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)

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

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

  • Trio
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Trio is located in Williamsburg County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trio
  • Lane
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • 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>
  • Suttons
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Suttons is located in Williamsburg County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suttons
  • Salters Depot
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Salters Depot is located in Williamsburg County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salters Depot
  • Salters
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Earle
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Earle is located in Williamsburg County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Earle
  • Saint Stephen
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Alvin
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Alvin is located in Berkeley County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alvin
  • Bloomingvale
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Bloomingvale is located in Williamsburg County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomingvale
  • Cooper
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Cooper is located in Williamsburg County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooper
  • Kingstree
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Greeleyville
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Fowler
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Fowler is located in Williamsburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fowler
    • Morrisville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Morrisville is located in Williamsburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrisville
    • Bonneau
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Taft ...

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 10 newspapers that have been published in the area around Taft.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Taft, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Taft.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with 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 Taft:

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 Taft, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Taft) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.