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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 Whetstone Crossroads (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 Whetstone Crossroads. 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 Whetstone Crossroads ...

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.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Whetstone Crossroads: Whetstone Xrds.

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

Whetstone Crossroads is located in Bamberg 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 Bamberg County: Allendale, Barnwell, Colleton, Hampton & Orangeburg.

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

  • Bamberg County     (The home county of Whetstone Crossroads)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whetstone Crossroads, with the one closest to Whetstone Crossroads listed first.
    • Ehrhardt
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Bamberg
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Govan
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Govan is located in Bamberg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Govan
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 57 people
    • Denmark
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Olar
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • 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 <1>
  • Allendale County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whetstone Crossroads, with the one closest to Whetstone Crossroads listed first.
    • Ulmer
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Sycamore
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Fairfax
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Barnwell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whetstone Crossroads, with the one closest to Whetstone Crossroads listed first.
    • Hilda
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Blackville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Berkeley County
    • Sandridge
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Sandridge is located in Berkeley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandridge
  • Calhoun County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whetstone Crossroads, with the one closest to Whetstone Crossroads listed first.
    • Cameron
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Cameron is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cameron
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 396 people
    • Creston
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Creston is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creston
  • Colleton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whetstone Crossroads, with the one closest to Whetstone Crossroads listed first.
    • Johnsville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Johnsville is located in Colleton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnsville
    • Smoaks
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Williams
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Ruffin
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Lodge
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Canadys
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Ashton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Ashton is located in Colleton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashton
    • Sidney
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Sidney is located in Colleton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sidney
    • Islandton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Sniders Crossroads
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Sniders Crossroads is located in Colleton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sniders Crossroads
    • Walterboro
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Drigger Crossroads
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Drigger Crossroads is located in Colleton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drigger Crossroads
    • Round O
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Dorchester County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whetstone Crossroads, with the one closest to Whetstone Crossroads listed first.
    • Reevesville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Grover
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Saint George
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Harleyville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Dorchester
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Ridgeville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
  • Hampton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whetstone Crossroads, with the one closest to Whetstone Crossroads listed first.
    • Miley
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Crocketville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Pond Town
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Pond Town is located in Hampton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pond Town
    • Hampton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Varnville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Brunson
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Early Branch
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Orangeburg County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whetstone Crossroads, with the one closest to Whetstone Crossroads listed first.
    • Branchville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Sixty Six
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Sixty Six is located in Orangeburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sixty Six
    • Rowesville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Bowman
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Cope
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Cope is located in Orangeburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cope
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 70 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cope <1>
    • Cordova
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Edisto
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Edisto is located in Orangeburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edisto
    • Brookdale
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Brookdale is located in Orangeburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookdale
    • Orangeburg
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Wilkinson Heights
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Wilkinson Heights is located in Orangeburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilkinson Heights
    • Wells
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Wells is located in Orangeburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wells
    • Holly Hill
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Bolen Town
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Bolen Town is located in Orangeburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolen Town

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

Cemeteries Near Whetstone Crossroads ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Whetstone Crossroads.

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 Whetstone Crossroads - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • McAlhany Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • May Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Buckhead Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Tabernacle Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • May - Stokes - Raysor Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Spell - Risher Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Connor Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Patrick Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Hagan Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Trinity Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Byrd Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Ott Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (238 more) ...
    • Old Miss Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Beulah Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Canaan Baptist Church Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)

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.<2>

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

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

  • Fifty Eight ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Fifty Eight is located in Orangeburg County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fifty Eight
  • Branchville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Sixty Six
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Sixty Six is located in Orangeburg County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sixty Six
  • Reevesville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Bowman
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Rowesville
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Ashton
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Ashton is located in Colleton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashton
  • Bamberg
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Felder
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Felder is located in Orangeburg County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Felder
  • Islandton
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
  • Miley
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Walterboro
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Harleyville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Govan
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Govan is located in Bamberg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Govan
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 57 people
    • Denmark
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Whetstone Crossroads ...

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 41 newspapers that have been published in the area around Whetstone Crossroads.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Whetstone Crossroads, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Whetstone Crossroads.

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 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 Whetstone Crossroads:

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>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 Whetstone Crossroads, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Whetstone Crossroads) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.