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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 Whetsell (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 Whetsell. 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.

Whetsell is located in Orangeburg 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 Orangeburg County: Aiken, Bamberg, Barnwell, Berkeley, Calhoun, Clarendon, Colleton, Dorchester & Lexington.

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

  • Orangeburg County     (The home county of Whetsell)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whetsell, with the one closest to Whetsell listed first.
    • Bowman
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Wells
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Wells is located in Orangeburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wells
    • Holly Hill
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Parler
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Parler is located in Orangeburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parler
    • Santee
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Vance
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Vance is located in Orangeburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vance
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 153 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vance <1>
    • Elloree
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Sixty Six
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Sixty Six is located in Orangeburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sixty Six
    • Eutawville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Green Town
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Green Town is located in Orangeburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Town
    • Possum Town
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Possum Town is located in Orangeburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Possum Town
    • Branchville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Bamberg County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whetsell, with the one closest to Whetsell listed first.
    • Bamberg
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Ehrhardt
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Berkeley County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whetsell, with the one closest to Whetsell listed first.
    • Sandridge
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Sandridge is located in Berkeley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandridge
    • Cross
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Eadytown
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Eadytown is located in Berkeley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eadytown
    • Washington Town
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Washington Town is located in Berkeley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washington Town
  • Calhoun County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whetsell, with the one closest to Whetsell listed first.
    • Cameron
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Cameron is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cameron
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 396 people
    • Creston
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Creston is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creston
    • Saint Matthews
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Clarendon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whetsell, with the one closest to Whetsell listed first.
    • Summerton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Panola
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Panola is located in Clarendon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panola
    • Davis Station
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Shad Moss village
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Shad Moss village is located in Clarendon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shad Moss village
    • Silver
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Silver is located in Clarendon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver
    • Jordan
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Jordan is located in Clarendon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jordan
    • Paxville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Colleton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whetsell, with the one closest to Whetsell listed first.
    • Johnsville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Johnsville is located in Colleton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnsville
    • Canadys
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Smoaks
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Sidney
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Sidney is located in Colleton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sidney
    • Williams
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Ruffin
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Drigger Crossroads
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Drigger Crossroads is located in Colleton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drigger Crossroads
    • Round O
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Lodge
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Cottageville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Walterboro
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • Dorchester County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whetsell, with the one closest to Whetsell listed first.
    • Reevesville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Saint George
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Harleyville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Grover
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Dorchester
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Ridgeville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Brownsville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Brownsville is located in Dorchester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsville
  • Sumter County
    • Pinewood
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)

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

Cemeteries Near Whetsell ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Whetsell.

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

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

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

  • Ebenezer Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Second Providence Baptist Church Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Duncan Chapel Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Murcheys Landing Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Lewis Shuler Family Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Shuler - Lewis Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • New Mt. Zion Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Walnut Grove Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Providence Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Indian Field UMC Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Island Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Mt. Tabor Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (223 more) ...
    • Rigby Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Dantzler - Hart Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Martin Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)

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.<3>

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

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

  • Bowman
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Wells
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Wells is located in Orangeburg County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wells
  • Dantzler
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Dantzler is located in Orangeburg County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dantzler
  • Reevesville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Felderville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Felderville is located in Orangeburg County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Felderville
  • Holly Hill
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Fifty Eight ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Fifty Eight is located in Orangeburg County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fifty Eight
  • Harleyville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Connors ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Connors is located in Orangeburg County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Connors
  • Parler
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Parler is located in Orangeburg County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parler
  • Vance
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Vance is located in Orangeburg County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vance
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 153 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vance <1>
  • Elloree
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Sixty Six
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Sixty Six is located in Orangeburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sixty Six
    • Branchville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Rowesville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)

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

Newspapers Published in Whetsell ...

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 26 newspapers that have been published in the area around Whetsell.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Whetsell, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Whetsell.

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 helpful 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 Whetsell:

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 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.
<3>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 Whetsell, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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- Whetsell) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.