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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 Wide Awake (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 Wide Awake. 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 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.

Wide Awake is located in Berkeley 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 Berkeley County: Charleston, Dorchester, Georgetown, Orangeburg & Williamsburg.

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

  • Berkeley County     (The home county of Wide Awake)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wide Awake, with the one closest to Wide Awake listed first.
    • Highland Village
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Highland Village is located in Berkeley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Village
    • Caromi Village
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Caromi Village is located in Berkeley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caromi Village
    • Mount Holly
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Mount Holly is located in Berkeley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Holly
    • Ladson
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Washington Town
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Washington Town is located in Berkeley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washington Town
    • Camelot Village
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Camelot Village is located in Berkeley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camelot Village
    • Goose Creek
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Tarry Town
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Tarry Town is located in Berkeley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tarry Town
    • Hanahan
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Moncks Corner
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Pinopolis
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Cordesville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Charleston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wide Awake, with the one closest to Wide Awake listed first.
    • Lincolnville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Lincolnville is located in Charleston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincolnville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,624 people
    • Otranto
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Otranto is located in Charleston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otranto
    • North Charleston
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Dorchester
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Dorchester is located in Charleston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorchester
    • Essex Village
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Essex Village is located in Charleston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Essex Village
    • Grove Creek Village
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Grove Creek Village is located in Charleston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grove Creek Village
    • Old Town
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Old Town is located in Charleston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Town
    • Charles Towne Village
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Charles Towne Village is located in Charleston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charles Towne Village
    • Charleston
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Ravenel
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Mount Pleasant
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Hollywood
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
  • Colleton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wide Awake, with the one closest to Wide Awake listed first.
    • Cottageville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Round O
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Sidney
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Sidney is located in Colleton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sidney
    • Jacksonboro
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Drigger Crossroads
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Drigger Crossroads is located in Colleton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drigger Crossroads
    • Canadys
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Dorchester County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wide Awake, with the one closest to Wide Awake listed first.
    • Summerville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Chandler Village
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Chandler Village is located in Dorchester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chandler Village
    • Brownsville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Brownsville is located in Dorchester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsville
    • Flowertown Village
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Flowertown Village is located in Dorchester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flowertown Village
    • Ridgeville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Dorchester
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Harleyville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Grover
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Saint George
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
  • Orangeburg County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wide Awake, with the one closest to Wide Awake listed first.
    • Holly Hill
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Eutawville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Green Town
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Green Town is located in Orangeburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Town
    • Possum Town
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Possum Town is located in Orangeburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Possum Town
    • Ferguson ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Ferguson is located in Orangeburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferguson

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

Cemeteries Near Wide Awake ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wide Awake.

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 Wide Awake - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Ridge Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Salem Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Pear Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Huff Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Williams Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Plantation Gardens Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Cherry Hill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • The Droze Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • The Droze Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Smyrna Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Whispering Pines Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Groomsville Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (213 more) ...

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 Wide Awake in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Wide Awake.

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

  • Summerville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Ladson
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Mount Holly
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Mount Holly is located in Berkeley County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Holly
  • Strawberry
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Strawberry is located in Berkeley County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strawberry
  • Otranto
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Otranto is located in Charleston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otranto
  • Long Ridge
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Long Ridge is located in Berkeley County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Ridge
  • Belvedere
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Belvedere is located in Berkeley County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belvedere
  • Moncks Corner
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Ridgeville
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Wando
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Huger
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
  • Macbeth
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Macbeth is located in Berkeley County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macbeth
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Sandridge
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Sandridge is located in Berkeley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandridge
    • Bonneau
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Charleston
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Wide Awake ...

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 8 newspapers that have been published in the area around Wide Awake.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Wide Awake, there are papers which were published within 6 miles [9.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Wide Awake.

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 Wide Awake:

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 Wide Awake, 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 from Point A (ie- Wide Awake) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.