RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of South Carolina >> Colleton County >> Tobys Bluff >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Tobys Bluff (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 Tobys Bluff. 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 Tobys Bluff ...

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 occur.

  • A typical abbreviation for Tobys Bluff: Tobys Blf. (or less commonly used: Tobys Bluf.)
  • While the name of this community is Tobys Bluff, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Tobys Bluff may originally have been Toby's Bluff.

    Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Tobys Bluff might be written as Toby Bluff.

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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Tobys Bluff is located in Colleton 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 Colleton County: Allendale, Bamberg, Beaufort, Charleston, Dorchester, Hampton & Orangeburg.

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

  • Colleton County     (The home county of Tobys Bluff)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Tobys Bluff, with the one closest to Tobys Bluff listed first.
    • Islandton
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Ashton
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Ashton is located in Colleton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashton
    • Sniders Crossroads
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Sniders Crossroads is located in Colleton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sniders Crossroads
    • Lodge
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Ruffin
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Williams
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Smoaks
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Walterboro
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Johnsville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Johnsville is located in Colleton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnsville
    • Drawdy
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Drawdy is located in Colleton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drawdy
    • White Hall
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • White Hall is located in Colleton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Hall
    • Ritter
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Ritter is located in Colleton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ritter
  • Allendale County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Tobys Bluff, with the one closest to Tobys Bluff listed first.
    • Fairfax
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Sycamore
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Ulmer
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Allendale
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Martin
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Bamberg County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Tobys Bluff, with the one closest to Tobys Bluff listed first.
    • Ehrhardt
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Olar
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Olar is located in Bamberg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olar
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 228 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Olar <2>
    • Govan
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Govan is located in Bamberg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Govan
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 57 people
    • Bamberg
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Denmark
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • Barnwell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Tobys Bluff, with the one closest to Tobys Bluff listed first.
    • Kline
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Hilda
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Beaufort County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Tobys Bluff, with the one closest to Tobys Bluff listed first.
    • Yemassee
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Tomotley
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Tomotley is located in Beaufort County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tomotley
    • Sheldon
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Lobeco
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Seabrook
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Dale
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Dorchester County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Tobys Bluff, with the one closest to Tobys Bluff listed first.
    • Grover
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Reevesville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Saint George
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Hampton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Tobys Bluff, with the one closest to Tobys Bluff listed first.
    • Miley
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Crocketville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Varnville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Hampton
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Pond Town
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Pond Town is located in Hampton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pond Town
    • Early Branch
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Brunson
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Barkerville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Barkerville is located in Hampton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barkerville
      • Barkerville has also been known as:
      • Haywardville
    • Gifford
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Luray
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Estill
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Furman
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
  • Jasper County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Tobys Bluff, with the one closest to Tobys Bluff listed first.
    • Pineland
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Ridgeland
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • Orangeburg County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Tobys Bluff, with the one closest to Tobys Bluff listed first.
    • Branchville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Sixty Six
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Sixty Six is located in Orangeburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sixty Six
  • Effingham County (GA)
    • Two Sisters Ferry
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • 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

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

Cemeteries Near Tobys Bluff ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Tobys Bluff.

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 Tobys Bluff - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Rice Path Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Gooding Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Cross Swamp Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Crocketville Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Varnville Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Crews Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Peniel Baptist Church Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Peniel Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Adnah Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Hampton Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Ulmer Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Breland Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (176 more) ...
    • Bethel Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Ashton Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Peeples Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)

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.<4>

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

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

  • Islandton
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Miley
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Crocketville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Varnville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Almeda
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Almeda is located in Hampton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almeda
  • Hampton
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Ashton
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Ashton is located in Colleton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashton
  • Cummings
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Cummings is located in Hampton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cummings
  • Horsegall
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Horsegall is located in Hampton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horsegall
  • Early Branch
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Brunson
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Davidson
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Davidson is located in Hampton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davidson
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Gifford
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Fairfax
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Luray
      (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 Tobys Bluff. See our List of 1890's Communities around Tobys Bluff.

Newspapers Published in Tobys Bluff ...

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 30 newspapers that have been published in the area around Tobys Bluff.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Tobys Bluff, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Tobys Bluff.

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 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 Tobys Bluff:

Footnotes ...

<1>It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties).
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<4>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 Tobys Bluff, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>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- Tobys Bluff) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.