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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 Wilksburg (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 Wilksburg. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Wilksburg is located in Chester 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 Chester County: Fairfield, Lancaster, Union & York.

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

  • Chester County     (The home county of Wilksburg)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wilksburg, with the one closest to Wilksburg listed first.
    • Cabal
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Cabal is located in Chester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cabal
    • Gayle Mill
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Gayle Mill is located in Chester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gayle Mill
    • Lowrys
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Lowrys is located in Chester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowrys
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 195 people
    • Chester
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Eureka Mill
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Eureka Mill is located in Chester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka Mill
    • Cornwell
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Cornwell is located in Chester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornwell
    • Smith
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Smith is located in Chester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smith
    • Blackstock
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Richburg
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Edgemoor
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Lando
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Fort Lawn
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Great Falls
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Cherokee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wilksburg, with the one closest to Wilksburg listed first.
    • Kings Creek
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Blacksburg
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • East Gaffney
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • East Gaffney is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Gaffney
    • Gaffney
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Macedonia
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Macedonia is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macedonia
  • Fairfield County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wilksburg, with the one closest to Wilksburg listed first.
    • Woodward
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Woodward is located in Fairfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodward
    • Blair
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • White Oak
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Adger
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Adger is located in Fairfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adger
    • Monticello
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Monticello is located in Fairfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monticello
    • Mitford
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Mitford is located in Fairfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitford
    • Winnsboro
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Lancaster County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wilksburg, with the one closest to Wilksburg listed first.
    • Springdell
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Springdell is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springdell
    • Riverside
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Riverside is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
  • Laurens County
    • Renno
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Renno is located in Laurens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Renno
  • Newberry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wilksburg, with the one closest to Wilksburg listed first.
    • Whitmire
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Glymphville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Glymphville is located in Newberry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glymphville
    • Sondleys ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Sondleys is located in Newberry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sondleys
  • Spartanburg County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wilksburg, with the one closest to Wilksburg listed first.
    • Central Pacolet
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Central Pacolet is located in Spartanburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central Pacolet
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 247 people
    • Pacolet Mills
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Pacolet
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Pacolet is located in Spartanburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pacolet
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,604 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pacolet <1>
    • White Stone
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Cross Anchor
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Camp Croft
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Camp Croft is located in Spartanburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camp Croft
    • Pauline
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Clifton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Glendale
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Converse
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Cowpens
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Cowpens is located in Spartanburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowpens
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,465 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cowpens <1>
  • Union County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wilksburg, with the one closest to Wilksburg listed first.
    • Lockhart
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Meador ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Meador is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meador
    • Bailey Town ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Bailey Town is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bailey Town
    • Carlisle
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Kelly
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Kelly is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelly
    • Union
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Red Town ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Red Town is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Town
    • Bonham
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Bonham is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonham
    • Tuckertown
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Tuckertown is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuckertown
    • Buffalo
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Delta
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Delta is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delta
    • Jonesville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Sartor Town
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Sartor Town is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sartor Town
  • York County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wilksburg, with the one closest to Wilksburg listed first.
    • Blairsville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Blairsville is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blairsville
    • Hopewell
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Hopewell is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell
    • McConnells
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Sharon
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Hickory Grove
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • York
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Smyrna
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Filbert
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Filbert is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Filbert
    • Zadok ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Zadok is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zadok
    • Newport
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Newport is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newport
    • Rock Hill
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Clover
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Lesslie
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Lesslie is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lesslie
  • Cleveland County (NC)
    • Grover
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Grover is located in Cleveland County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grover
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 709 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Grover <1>

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

Cemeteries Near Wilksburg ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wilksburg.

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

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

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

  • Brushy Fork Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Thomas Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Grant Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Armenia UMC Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Sims Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Glenn Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Mt. Moriah Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Mt. Moriah Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Mt. Tabor Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Wesley Chapel Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Bullock Creek Presbyterian Church Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Beulah Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (305 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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Wilksburg had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Baton Rouge
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Baton Rouge is located in Chester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baton Rouge
  • Cotton ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Cotton is located in York County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotton
  • Sandy River
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Sandy River is located in Chester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy River
  • Bullock Creek
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Bullock Creek is located in York County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bullock Creek
  • Meador ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Meador is located in Union County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meador
  • Leeds
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Leeds is located in Chester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leeds
  • Gould ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Gould is located in York County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gould
  • Santuc
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Santuc is located in Union County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santuc
  • Chester
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Hoodtown
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Hoodtown is located in York County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoodtown
  • Carlisle
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Blairsville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Blairsville is located in York County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blairsville
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Hopewell
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Hopewell is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell
    • Kelton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Kelton is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelton
    • Union
      (13 miles [20.9 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 Wilksburg. See our List of 1890's Communities around Wilksburg.

Newspapers Published in Wilksburg ...

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 31 newspapers that have been published in the area around Wilksburg.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Wilksburg, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Wilksburg.

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 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 Wilksburg:

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 Wilksburg, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Wilksburg) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.