Skip to content

Random Connections

A collection of photography and exploration focusing on Upstate South Carolina and beyond.

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Photos
  • Resources
  • Other Voices
  • Post Archives
  • Podcast
  • Home
  • History and Genealogy
  • Page 3

Category: History and Genealogy

Orphaned Graveyards and Family Connections in Ninety Six

Posted on March 18, 2021March 18, 2021 By Tom 5 Comments on Orphaned Graveyards and Family Connections in Ninety Six
History and Genealogy

For this exploration of orphaned graveyards I’m leaving Greenville County and heading to Greenwood County, specifically to the Cambridge and Epworth regions of the county. The two graveyards are no longer connected to extant churches, but are closely connected to our family’s history. Mount Hermon (Herman?) Baptist Church is the burial place for my great-grandparents, … Read More “Orphaned Graveyards and Family Connections in Ninety Six” »

Reanimating the Dead

Posted on March 4, 2021March 4, 2021 By Tom No Comments on Reanimating the Dead
General Technology, History and Genealogy, Photography

This past year MyHeritage released two new products that add an interesting, albeit creepy new dimension to old photos. The first of these was a colorizer for old photos. The second looks like something right out of Harry Potter. The colorizer app was released about a year ago and does a pretty good job of … Read More “Reanimating the Dead” »

Paddling the Saluda River from Cooley’s Bridge

Posted on February 27, 2021March 12, 2021 By Tom 12 Comments on Paddling the Saluda River from Cooley’s Bridge
History and Genealogy, Paddling

Duke Power has been installing ADA accessible kayak launch ramps all along the Saluda River. I had used the one upstream of the Saluda Dam several times, as well as one on the Tyger River at Berry Pond. These are a great asset for all paddlers, not just those with disabilities. Alan and I wanted … Read More “Paddling the Saluda River from Cooley’s Bridge” »

Orphaned Graveyards – Bakers Chapel AME

Posted on February 19, 2021February 19, 2021 By Tom 5 Comments on Orphaned Graveyards – Bakers Chapel AME
History and Genealogy

Sometime back, Laura and I were driving down White Horse Road and it struck us just how many unkept cemeteries there were. I made a mental note to check on these, and subsequently several were added to my list of orphaned graveyards. One that struck me as particularly forlorn was located right next to an … Read More “Orphaned Graveyards – Bakers Chapel AME” »

Orphaned Graveyards – Fellowship Church

Posted on February 17, 2021February 19, 2021 By Tom 5 Comments on Orphaned Graveyards – Fellowship Church
History and Genealogy

Continuing with my exploration of old and abandoned church graveyards, one of the most surprising and upsetting finds was the graveyard of Fellowship Church. Located at the intersection of Fork Shoals Road and Georgia Road, the graveyard is abandoned and trash laden. The plot is now bounded by a Dollar General to the east and … Read More “Orphaned Graveyards – Fellowship Church” »

Orphaned Graveyard – South Saluda Baptist

Posted on February 12, 2021February 12, 2021 By Tom 1 Comment on Orphaned Graveyard – South Saluda Baptist
History and Genealogy, Uncategorized

One of the orphaned graveyards on my list belonged to the South Saluda Baptist Church in northern Greenville County. The church was located in what is now the Tall Pines Heritage Preserve. I visited this site two years ago, in February of 2019. At that time we found the graveyard in terrible disarray, with several … Read More “Orphaned Graveyard – South Saluda Baptist” »

Orphaned Cemeteries – Old Salem Methodist Church

Posted on February 9, 2021February 9, 2021 By Tom 1 Comment on Orphaned Cemeteries – Old Salem Methodist Church
History and Genealogy

Salem United Methodist Church sits prominently on White Horse Road, right where it intersects with I-185 on the west side of Greenville. The church has a history with our family. From 1963 until 1976 its pastor was the Rev. Bill Cooke. My brother, Stephen, and Bill’s daughter, Cynthia Cooke were married in the church in … Read More “Orphaned Cemeteries – Old Salem Methodist Church” »

The Orphaned Graveyards of Greenville County

Posted on February 8, 2021February 10, 2021 By Tom 1 Comment on The Orphaned Graveyards of Greenville County
History and Genealogy, Photography

Humans are weird. At least in our western culture, they expect that a sixteen square foot plot of land will be set aside for them in perpetuity, to be held sacrosanct as a memorial of their existence. It seems that over the generations we would eventually run out of land for burials. Perhaps that’s one … Read More “The Orphaned Graveyards of Greenville County” »

Exploring The Jungle of Lake Moultrie

Posted on August 10, 2020August 10, 2020 By Tom No Comments on Exploring The Jungle of Lake Moultrie
History and Genealogy, Paddling, Photography

The Second Saturday of August meant time for another adventure with my friends from Lowcountry Unfiltered. Matt and I bounced a few ideas around before settling on The Jungle, a section of Lake Moultrie featured as part of the Berkeley County Blueways. It was a new venue for us, and turned out to be a … Read More “Exploring The Jungle of Lake Moultrie” »

The Allen Parkins Project

Posted on July 24, 2020July 27, 2020 By Tom 5 Comments on The Allen Parkins Project
History and Genealogy, Local

When I’m out exploring I’m easily distracted by roads with names that contain the words “School”, “Church”, or “Mill.” This is usually an indicator that there was, or possibly still is something historic and of interest on that road. For some reason, Parkins Mill Road in Greenville has escaped my scrutiny. Perhaps it’s because it’s … Read More “The Allen Parkins Project” »

Posts pagination

Previous 1 2 3 4 … 28 Next

Categories

  • EdTech (197)
  • Entertainment (201)
  • Family (123)
  • Gear (114)
  • General Technology (98)
  • Geocaching and Maps (208)
  • History and Genealogy (275)
  • Internet (141)
  • Local (458)
  • Miscellaneous (557)
  • Music (202)
  • Paddling (265)
  • Photography (781)
  • Podcast (16)
  • Rambling (233)
  • Rants (161)
  • Recipes (36)
  • Religion (48)
  • Restaurants (165)
  • Science (48)
  • Things Overheard (29)
  • Travel (413)
  • Uncategorized (143)
  • Washington Sabbatical (113)
  • Weirdness (59)

Recent Posts

  • Carolina Ghost Towns – Paper Towns
  • Kayaking on Wolf Creek Lake
  • Carolina Ghost Towns – Colonial Dorchester
  • Six Layer Bourbon Grits Bowl
  • How’s the House? Part 2

Recent Comments

  • Eric Kincaid on Kayaking and Coffee
  • Daniel S Mawn on Remembering the Walke
  • Judy Hall on The Clock on Wade Hampton
  • Charles Johnson on In Search of the Road Builder
  • Anthony h hannig on From Kingsbury to Stoneboro – Rambling in Lancaster County

Tags

blogging cemetery Christmas Columbia Edisto River edtech Entertainment family Flickr Florida Furman Furman University gear Georgia geotagging Ghost Town Ghost Towns Google Earth Google Maps GPS Greenville Greenville Chorale history Instructional Technology kayaking Lake Jocassee LCU Lowcountry Unfiltered maps Music North Carolina Paddling Photography rambling restaurant Restaurants review singing social networking South Carolina time-lapse Travel video Washington Washington State
June 2025
S M T W T F S
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
2930  
« May    

Copyright © 2025 Random Connections.

Theme: Oceanly by ScriptsTown