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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 Windsor Forest (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 Windsor Forest. 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 Windsor Forest ...

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 Windsor Forest: Windsor Frst.

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Windsor Forest. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Windsor Forest.

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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most 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.

Windsor Forest is located in Spartanburg 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 Spartanburg County: Polk (NC), Rutherford (NC), Cherokee, Greenville, Laurens & Union.

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

  • Spartanburg County     (The home county of Windsor Forest)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Windsor Forest, with the one closest to Windsor Forest listed first.
    • Camp Croft
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Camp Croft is located in Spartanburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camp Croft
    • White Stone
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Drayton
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Glendale
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Hub City Courts
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Hub City Courts is located in Spartanburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hub City Courts
    • Spartanburg
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Roebuck
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Zion Hill
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Zion Hill is located in Spartanburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zion Hill
    • Saxon
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Saxon is located in Spartanburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saxon
    • Whitney
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Whitney is located in Spartanburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitney
    • Pauline
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Clifton
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Arcadia
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Cherokee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Windsor Forest, with the one closest to Windsor Forest listed first.
    • Macedonia
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Macedonia is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macedonia
    • Chesnee
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Gaffney
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • East Gaffney
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • East Gaffney is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Gaffney
    • Blacksburg
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Kings Creek
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Chester County
    • Cabal
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Cabal is located in Chester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cabal
  • Greenville County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Windsor Forest, with the one closest to Windsor Forest listed first.
    • Greer
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Greer is located in Greenville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greer
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 35,316 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Greer <1>
    • Pelham
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Pelham is located in Greenville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pelham
    • Five Forks
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Five Forks is located in Greenville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Forks
    • Fountain Inn
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Woodland Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Woodland Village is located in Greenville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Village
    • Chick Springs
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Chick Springs is located in Greenville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chick Springs
    • Gowensville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Gowensville is located in Greenville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gowensville
    • Simpsonville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • East Gate Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • East Gate Village is located in Greenville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Gate Village
    • O'Neal
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • O'Neal is located in Greenville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for O'Neal
    • Taylors
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Mauldin
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Mauldin is located in Greenville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mauldin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 25,562 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mauldin <1>
    • Wade Hampton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Wade Hampton is located in Greenville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wade Hampton
  • Laurens County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Windsor Forest, with the one closest to Windsor Forest listed first.
    • Tylersville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Tylersville is located in Laurens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tylersville
    • Gray Court
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Green Pond
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Green Pond is located in Laurens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Pond
    • Laurens
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Clinton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Renno
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Renno is located in Laurens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Renno
  • Union County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Windsor Forest, with the one closest to Windsor Forest listed first.
    • Jonesville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Colerain
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Colerain is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colerain
    • Bonham
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Bonham is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonham
    • Kelly
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Kelly is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelly
    • Buffalo
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Bishop Town ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Bishop Town is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bishop Town
    • Union
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Bailey Town ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Bailey Town is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bailey Town
    • Sedalia
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Sedalia is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedalia
    • Lockhart
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Meador ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Meador is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meador
    • Red Town ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Red Town is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Town
  • York County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Windsor Forest, with the one closest to Windsor Forest listed first.
    • Hopewell
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Hopewell is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell
    • Hickory Grove
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Smyrna
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Blairsville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Blairsville is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blairsville
  • Cleveland County (NC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Windsor Forest, with the one closest to Windsor Forest listed first.
    • Byersville ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Byersville is located in Cleveland County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byersville
    • Cliffside
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Cliffside is located in Cleveland County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliffside
    • Erwinsville ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Erwinsville is located in Cleveland County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erwinsville
    • Flint Hill ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Flint Hill is located in Cleveland County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint Hill
    • Boiling Springs
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Earl
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Earl is located in Cleveland County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Earl
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 261 people
    • Mooresboro
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Mooresboro is located in Cleveland County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mooresboro
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 316 people
    • Sharon
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Sharon is located in Cleveland County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharon
    • Brittain Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Brittain Village is located in Cleveland County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brittain Village
    • Patterson Springs
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Patterson Springs is located in Cleveland County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patterson Springs
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 628 people
  • Polk County (NC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Windsor Forest, with the one closest to Windsor Forest listed first.
    • Tryon
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Tryon is located in Polk County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tryon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,635 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tryon <1>
    • Columbus
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Lynn
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Lynn is located in Polk County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynn
  • Rutherford County (NC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Windsor Forest, with the one closest to Windsor Forest listed first.
    • Harris
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Harris is located in Rutherford County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris
    • Henrietta
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Henrietta is located in Rutherford County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henrietta
    • Holly Springs
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Holly Springs is located in Rutherford County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Springs
    • Caroleen
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Caroleen is located in Rutherford County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caroleen
    • Sandy Mush
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Sandy Mush is located in Rutherford County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Mush
    • Shiloh
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Shiloh is located in Rutherford County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh
    • Six Points
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Six Points is located in Rutherford County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Six Points
    • Alexander Mills
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Alexander Mills is located in Rutherford County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexander Mills
    • Forest City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Bakersville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Bakersville is located in Rutherford County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bakersville
    • Concord
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Concord is located in Rutherford County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
    • Ellenboro
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)

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

Cemeteries Near Windsor Forest ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Windsor Forest.

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 Windsor Forest - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Cedar Spring Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Lee Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Fleming Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Bagwell Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Old City Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old City Cemetery
    • The Old City Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Freemans Cemetery
    • New Colored Cemetery
  • Cemetery Hill
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Seay Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Lancaster Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Oakwood Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Antioch Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Oeland Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Foster Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (446 more) ...
    • Lebanon Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Bates Family Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Glendale Methodist Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 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 Windsor Forest in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Windsor Forest.

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

  • Golightly
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Golightly is located in Spartanburg County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golightly
  • Glendale
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Spartanburg
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Whitney
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Whitney is located in Spartanburg County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitney
  • Glenn Springs
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Glenn Springs is located in Spartanburg County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenn Springs
  • Clifton
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Converse
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Moore
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Walnut Grove
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Walnut Grove is located in Spartanburg County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Grove
  • Pacolet
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • 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>
  • Fairforest
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Cowpens
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • 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>
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Switzer
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Switzer is located in Spartanburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Switzer
    • Mount Zion
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Mount Zion is located in Spartanburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
    • Dutchman
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Dutchman is located in Spartanburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutchman

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

Newspapers Published in Windsor Forest ...

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 30 newspapers that have been published in the area around Windsor Forest.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Windsor Forest, there are papers which were published within 9 miles [14.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Windsor Forest.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Windsor Forest:

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