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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 Ware Shoals (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 Ware Shoals. 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 Ware Shoals ...

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 have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Ware Shoals: Ware Shls.

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 hospitals 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.

Ware Shoals is primarily located in Abbeville County. A portion of Ware Shoals extends into Greenwood County and Laurens 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 Abbeville County: Elbert (GA), Anderson, Greenville, Greenwood, Laurens & McCormick.

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

  • Abbeville County     (The home county of Ware Shoals)
  • Anderson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ware Shoals, with the one closest to Ware Shoals listed first.
    • Belton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Pelzer
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Williamston
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • West Pelzer
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Pelzer have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Pelzer
      • West Pelzer is located in Anderson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 953 people
    • Piedmont
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Anderson
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Caldwell Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Caldwell Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caldwell Village
      • Caldwell Village is located in Anderson County
    • Homeland Park
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Homeland Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homeland Park
      • Homeland Park is located in Anderson County
    • Iva
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Anderson Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Anderson Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson Village
      • Anderson Village is located in Anderson County
    • Deans
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Deans. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deans
      • Deans is located in Anderson County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Deans
      • From Ware Shoals to Deans
    • Starr
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Centerville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
  • Greenville County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ware Shoals, with the one closest to Ware Shoals listed first.
    • Fork Shoals
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Lickville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lickville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lickville
      • Lickville is located in Greenville County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Lickville
      • From Ware Shoals to Lickville
    • Fountain Inn
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Simpsonville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Woodland Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodland Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Village
      • Woodland Village is located in Greenville County
    • Golden Grove
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Golden Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golden Grove
      • Golden Grove is located in Greenville County
    • Conestee
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Mauldin
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Five Forks
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Five Forks have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Forks
      • Five Forks is located in Greenville County
    • Gantt
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Gantt. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gantt
      • Gantt is located in Greenville County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Gantt
      • From Ware Shoals to Gantt
    • Pine Hill Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pine Hill Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Hill Village
      • Pine Hill Village is located in Greenville County
    • White Horse
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Greenwood County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ware Shoals, with the one closest to Ware Shoals listed first.
    • Cokesbury
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cokesbury have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cokesbury
      • Cokesbury is located in Greenwood County
    • Hodges
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Coronaca
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coronaca have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coronaca
      • Coronaca is located in Greenwood County
    • Greenwood Village
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenwood Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood Village
      • Greenwood Village is located in Greenwood County
    • Greenwood
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Grendel Village
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grendel Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grendel Village
      • Grendel Village is located in Greenwood County
    • Panola Village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Panola Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panola Village
      • Panola Village is located in Greenwood County
    • Mathews Village
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mathews Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mathews Village
      • Mathews Village is located in Greenwood County
    • Fairforest
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Promised Land
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Promised Land have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Promised Land
      • Promised Land is located in Greenwood County
    • Verdery
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Verdery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verdery
      • Verdery is located in Greenwood County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Verdery
      • From Ware Shoals to Verdery
    • Ninety Six
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Springdale
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Laurens County
  • McCormick County
  • Newberry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ware Shoals, with the one closest to Ware Shoals listed first.
    • Mudlick
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Mudlick. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mudlick
      • Mudlick is located in Newberry County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Mudlick
      • From Ware Shoals to Mudlick
    • Chappells
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Spartanburg County

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

Cemeteries Near Ware Shoals ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ware Shoals.

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

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

  • Turkey Creek Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Turkey Creek Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Turkey Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Dunns Creek Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dunns Creek Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Dunns Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Kings Chapel Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Kings Chapel Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Kings Chapel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mt. Galliger Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Galliger Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Galliger Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Poplar Springs Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Poplar Springs Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Poplar Springs Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Greenville Presbyterian Church Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Mt. Bethel Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Bethel Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Bethel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Donalds Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Hodges Family Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Hopewell Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hopewell Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hopewell Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Princeton Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Princeton Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Princeton Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Friendship Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Friendship Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Friendship Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (277 more) ...
    • Broadmouth Baptist Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Broadmouth Baptist Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Broadmouth Baptist Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Kay Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Kay Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Kay Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • McClain Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the McClain Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the McClain 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.<4>

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

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

  • Brewerton
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brewerton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brewerton
    • Brewerton is located in Laurens County
  • Mount Gallagher
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Donalds
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Ekom
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Hodges
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Princeton
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Princeton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Princeton
    • Princeton is located in Laurens County
  • Honea Path
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Due West
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Waterloo
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Level Land
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Darraugh
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Darraugh have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darraugh
    • Darraugh is located in Abbeville County
  • Greenwood
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Lisbon ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lisbon. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lisbon
      • Lisbon is located in Laurens County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Lisbon
      • From Ware Shoals to Lisbon
    • Barksdale
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Barksdale have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barksdale
      • Barksdale is located in Laurens County
    • Toney Creek
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Toney Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toney Creek
      • Toney Creek is located in Anderson County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Ware Shoals ...

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 32 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ware Shoals.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Ware Shoals. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Ware Shoals and those printed in the larger area surrounding Ware Shoals.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<5> of Ware Shoals.

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 Ware Shoals:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Ware Shoals. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Abbeville County: www.abbevillecountygovernment.org/

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>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 Ware Shoals, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Ware Shoals) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ware Shoals. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.3986, Longitude: -82.2466    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 30 Mar 2025