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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

So far, we found very little information about Varntown. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>

We've added Varntown to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Varntown, please Contact Us.

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 Varntown (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 Varntown. 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.

Although our information shows that the community of Varntown is historic, it would have been located within present day 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 Varntown. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Varntown:

  • Colleton County     (The home county of Varntown)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Varntown, with the one closest to Varntown listed first.
    • Sniders Crossroads
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Sniders Crossroads is located in Colleton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sniders Crossroads
    • Islandton
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Ruffin
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Ashton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Ashton is located in Colleton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashton
    • Williams
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Walterboro
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Lodge
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Drawdy
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Drawdy is located in Colleton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drawdy
    • White Hall
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • White Hall is located in Colleton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Hall
    • Ritter
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Ritter is located in Colleton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ritter
    • Smoaks
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Green Pond
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
  • Allendale County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Varntown, with the one closest to Varntown listed first.
    • Fairfax
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Sycamore
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Ulmer
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Allendale
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
  • Bamberg County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Varntown, with the one closest to Varntown listed first.
    • Ehrhardt
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Olar
      (27 miles [43.5 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
      (29 miles [46.7 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
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Beaufort County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Varntown, with the one closest to Varntown listed first.
    • Yemassee
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Tomotley
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Tomotley is located in Beaufort County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tomotley
    • Sheldon
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Lobeco
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Seabrook
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Dale
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Laurel Bay
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Laurel Bay is located in Beaufort County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Bay
  • Charleston County
    • Canady Landing ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Canady Landing is located in Charleston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canady Landing
  • Dorchester County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Varntown, with the one closest to Varntown listed first.
    • Grover
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Reevesville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Saint George
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Hampton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Varntown, with the one closest to Varntown listed first.
    • Early Branch
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Miley
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Crocketville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Varnville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Barkerville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Barkerville is located in Hampton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barkerville
      • Barkerville has also been known as:
      • Haywardville
    • Hampton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Pond Town
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Pond Town is located in Hampton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pond Town
    • Brunson
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Gifford
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Luray
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Furman
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Estill
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
  • Jasper County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Varntown, with the one closest to Varntown listed first.
    • Pineland
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Ridgeland
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Tillman
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Orangeburg County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Varntown, with the one closest to Varntown listed first.
    • Branchville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Sixty Six
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Sixty Six is located in Orangeburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sixty Six

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

Cemeteries Near Varntown ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Varntown.

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

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

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

  • Peniel Baptist Church Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Peniel Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Shiloh Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Adnah Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Crews Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Rice Path Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Searson Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Ulmer Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Pine Grove Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Breland Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Bethel Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Jerusalem Church Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (185 more) ...
    • Cross Swamp Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Old Field Creek Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Zahler 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.

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

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

  • Islandton
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Cummings
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Cummings is located in Hampton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cummings
  • Early Branch
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Almeda
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Almeda is located in Hampton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almeda
  • Davidson
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Davidson is located in Hampton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davidson
  • Miley
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Crocketville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Varnville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Horsegall
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Horsegall is located in Hampton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horsegall
  • Ashton
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Ashton is located in Colleton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashton
  • Hendersonville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Hendersonville is located in Colleton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hendersonville
  • Yemassee
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Salkehatchie
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Salkehatchie is located in Colleton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salkehatchie
    • Hampton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Walterboro
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)

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

Newspapers Published in Varntown ...

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 28 newspapers that have been published in the area around Varntown.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Varntown, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Varntown.

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 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 Varntown:

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Varntown, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Varntown) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.