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The Commemorative Quarter for South Carolina





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 Union (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 Union. 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 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.

Union is located in Union County and is the County Seat.

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 Union County: Cherokee, Chester, Fairfield, Laurens, Newberry, Spartanburg & York.

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

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

Cemeteries Near Union ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Union.

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

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

  • Grace Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Grace Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Grace Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Forest Lawn Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Forest Lawn Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Forest Lawn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Rosemont Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rosemont Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rosemont Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Union Memorial Gardens
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Union Memorial Gardens
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Union Memorial Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Humphries Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Humphries Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Humphries Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Palmer Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Palmer Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Palmer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Swink - Little Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Swink - Little Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Swink - Little Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sanders Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sanders Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sanders Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Upper Fairforest Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Upper Fairforest Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Upper Fairforest Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sardis Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sardis Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sardis Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hebron Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hebron Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hebron Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Maple Ridge Baptist Church Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (361 more) ...
    • Sunset Memorial Gardens
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sunset Memorial Gardens
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sunset Memorial Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • McBride Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the McBride Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the McBride Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Rice Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rice Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rice Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Union had a population of 1,609 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Union had a population of 7,535 people.

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

  • Bonham
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bonham. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonham
    • Bonham is located in Union County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Bonham
    • From Union to Bonham
  • Meador ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Meador have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meador
    • Meador is located in Union County
  • Jonesville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Santuc
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Santuc have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santuc
    • Santuc is located in Union County
  • Kelton
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kelton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelton
    • Kelton is located in Union County
  • Sedalia
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sedalia. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedalia
    • Sedalia is located in Union County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Sedalia
    • From Union to Sedalia
  • West Springs
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Springs
    • West Springs is located in Union County
  • Colerain
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Colerain. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colerain
    • Colerain is located in Union County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Colerain
    • From Union to Colerain
  • Cross Keys
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cross Keys have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cross Keys
    • Cross Keys is located in Union County
  • Ada ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ada have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ada
    • Ada is located in Union County
  • Delta
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Delta. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delta
    • Delta is located in Union County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Delta
    • From Union to Delta
  • Carlisle
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Dutchman
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dutchman have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutchman
      • Dutchman is located in Spartanburg County
    • Goshen Hill
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Goshen Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goshen Hill
      • Goshen Hill is located in Union County
    • Wilksburg
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wilksburg have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilksburg
      • Wilksburg is located in Chester County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Union ...

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 19 newspapers that have been published in the area around Union.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Union. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Union and those printed in the larger area surrounding Union.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 18 miles [29 km]<6> of Union.

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 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 Union:

The official website for Union: www.cityofunion.net/

The official website for Union County: www.countyofunion.com/

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>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.
<3>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.
<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 Union, 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- Union) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Union. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.7153, Longitude: -81.6238    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 22 Apr 2025