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 Texas (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 Texas. 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 doctors 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.
Texas is located in Dorchester 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 Dorchester County: Bamberg, Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton & Orangeburg.
Below are the counties that are near Texas. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Texas:
- Dorchester County (The home county of Texas)
- The following are listed by their distance from Texas, with the one closest to Texas listed first.
- Grover
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Saint George
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Reevesville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Harleyville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Dorchester
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Ridgeville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Brownsville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsville
- Brownsville is located in Dorchester County
- Flowertown Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Flowertown Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flowertown Village
- Flowertown Village is located in Dorchester County
- Summerville
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Chandler Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chandler Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chandler Village
- Chandler Village is located in Dorchester County
- Bamberg County
- The following are listed by their distance from Texas, with the one closest to Texas listed first.
- Ehrhardt
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Bamberg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Berkeley County
- The following are listed by their distance from Texas, with the one closest to Texas listed first.
- Sandridge
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sandridge. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandridge
- Sandridge is located in Berkeley County
- Washington Town
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Washington Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washington Town
- Washington Town is located in Berkeley County
- Highland Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Highland Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Village
- Highland Village is located in Berkeley County
- Cross
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Ladson
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Caromi Village
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Caromi Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caromi Village
- Caromi Village is located in Berkeley County
- Mount Holly
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Holly have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Holly
- Mount Holly is located in Berkeley County
- Pinopolis
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Eadytown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Eadytown. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eadytown
- Eadytown is located in Berkeley County
- Calhoun County
- Cameron
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cameron have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cameron
- Cameron is located in Calhoun County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 396 people
- Charleston County
- The following are listed by their distance from Texas, with the one closest to Texas listed first.
- Lincolnville
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincolnville
- Lincolnville is located in Charleston County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,624 people
- Canady Landing ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canady Landing
- Canady Landing is located in Charleston County
- Adams Run
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Ravenel
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Colleton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Texas, with the one closest to Texas listed first.
- Canadys
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Sidney
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sidney. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sidney
- Sidney is located in Colleton County
- Round O
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Johnsville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnsville
- Johnsville is located in Colleton County
- Cottageville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Drigger Crossroads
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drigger Crossroads
- Drigger Crossroads is located in Colleton County
- Smoaks
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Walterboro
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Ruffin
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Williams
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Drawdy
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Drawdy have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drawdy
- Drawdy is located in Colleton County
- Lodge
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Hampton County
- Miley
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Orangeburg County
- The following are listed by their distance from Texas, with the one closest to Texas listed first.
- Holly Hill
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Bowman
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Wells
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wells
- Wells is located in Orangeburg County
- Branchville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Sixty Six
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sixty Six
- Sixty Six is located in Orangeburg County
- Eutawville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Green Town
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Town
- Green Town is located in Orangeburg County
- Possum Town
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Possum Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Possum Town
- Possum Town is located in Orangeburg County
- Vance
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Rowesville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Santee
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Parler
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parler
- Parler is located in Orangeburg County
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Texas, see our County-by-County Page for Texas.
Cemeteries Near Texas ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Texas.
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 Texas covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Texas, with the one closest to Texas listed first.
- Proctor Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Proctor Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Proctor Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- St. Marks Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Marks Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Marks Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Bethel Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bethel Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bethel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Seigler Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Seigler Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Seigler Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Walters Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Walters Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Walters Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Westbury Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Wallace Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wallace Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wallace Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Murray Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Murray Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Murray Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Utsey Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Utsey Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Utsey Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- St. George Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. George Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. George Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Dukes Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dukes Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Dukes Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- St. James Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. James Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. James Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Continue List (226 more) ...
- New Grace UMC Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Bridge Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bridge Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bridge Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Gruber Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gruber Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gruber Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
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.<5>
While we didn't find Texas in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Texas.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Texas, with the one closest to Texas listed first.
- Reevesville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Harleyville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Fifty Eight ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fifty Eight have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fifty Eight
- Fifty Eight is located in Orangeburg County
- Cottageville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Ridgeville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Sandridge
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sandridge. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandridge
- Sandridge is located in Berkeley County
- Holly Hill
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Bowman
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Walterboro
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Wells
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wells
- Wells is located in Orangeburg County
- Branchville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Connors ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Connors have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Connors
- Connors is located in Orangeburg County
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Sixty Six
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sixty Six
- Sixty Six is located in Orangeburg County
- Drawdy
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Drawdy have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drawdy
- Drawdy is located in Colleton County
- Dantzler
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dantzler have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dantzler
- Dantzler is located in Orangeburg County
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Texas. See our List of 1890's Communities around Texas.
Newspapers Published in Texas ...
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 16 newspapers that have been published in the area around Texas.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Texas, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Texas.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we start with 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 Texas:
- Websites specific to South Carolina
- Pages specific to Dorchester County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bamberg County
- Berkeley County
- Calhoun County
- Charleston County
- Colleton County
- Hampton County
- Orangeburg County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for South Carolina
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Texas. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Dorchester County: www.dorchestercounty.net/
The official website for State of South Carolina: https://sc.gov/
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 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. |
<3> | 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. |
<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> | 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 Texas, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
<6> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Texas) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Texas. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.1321, Longitude: -80.5537 In this case, the coordinates for Texas have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |