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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 Ashton (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 Ashton. 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.

Ashton is located in Ben Hill County.

To see how the shape of Georgia's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Ben Hill County: Coffee, Irwin, Telfair, Turner & Wilcox.

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

  • Ben Hill County     (The home county of Ashton)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ashton, with the one closest to Ashton listed first.
    • Fitzgerald
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Abba
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abba
      • Abba is located in Ben Hill County
  • Atkinson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ashton, with the one closest to Ashton listed first.
    • Willacoochee
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Willacoochee have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willacoochee
      • Willacoochee is located in Atkinson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,389 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Willacoochee <1>
    • Leliaton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Leliaton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leliaton
      • Leliaton is located in Atkinson County
  • Berrien County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ashton, with the one closest to Ashton listed first.
    • Alapaha
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Enigma
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Coffee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ashton, with the one closest to Ashton listed first.
    • Ambrose
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Broxton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Douglas
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Mora
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mora have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mora
      • Mora is located in Coffee County
      • Estimated population in 2019: 444 people
    • Oak Park
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oak Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Park
      • Oak Park is located in Coffee County
      • Estimated population in 2019: 470 people
    • West Green
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Green have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Green
      • West Green is located in Coffee County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for West Green <1>
  • Dodge County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ashton, with the one closest to Ashton listed first.
    • Rhine
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rhine have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rhine
      • Rhine is located in Dodge County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 364 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rhine <1>
    • Chauncey
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
  • Irwin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ashton, with the one closest to Ashton listed first.
    • Wray
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Ocilla
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ocilla have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocilla
      • Ocilla is located in Irwin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,722 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ocilla <1>
    • Mystic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mystic have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mystic
      • Mystic is located in Irwin County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mystic <1>
    • Irwinville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Irwinville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irwinville
      • Irwinville is located in Irwin County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Irwinville <1>
    • Arp
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arp
      • Arp is located in Irwin County
  • Jeff Davis County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ashton, with the one closest to Ashton listed first.
    • Kirkland
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kirkland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirkland
      • Kirkland is located in Jeff Davis County
    • Denton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
  • Telfair County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ashton, with the one closest to Ashton listed first.
    • Jacksonville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Milan
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Milan have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milan
      • Milan is located in Telfair County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 649 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Milan <1>
    • Helena
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • McRae - Helena
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • McRae
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McRae
      • McRae is located in Telfair County
    • Scotland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scotland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotland
      • Scotland is located in Telfair County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 334 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Scotland <1>
  • Tift County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ashton, with the one closest to Ashton listed first.
    • Brookfield
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Chula
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Abac
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Tifton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Unionville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unionville
      • Unionville is located in Tift County
    • Phillipsburg
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Phillipsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phillipsburg
      • Phillipsburg is located in Tift County
  • Turner County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ashton, with the one closest to Ashton listed first.
    • Rebecca
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Sycamore
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Ashburn
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Wilcox County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ashton, with the one closest to Ashton listed first.
    • Abbeville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Rochelle
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rochelle have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochelle
      • Rochelle is located in Wilcox County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,081 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rochelle <1>
    • Pitts
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Ashton ...

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 21 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ashton.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ashton, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Ashton.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Ashton:

Cemeteries Near Ashton ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ashton.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

  • Prospect Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Prospect Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Prospect Cemetery
  • Dicksons Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Dicksons Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dicksons Cemetery
  • McMillan Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the McMillan Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the McMillan Cemetery
  • Troup Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Troup Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Troup Cemetery
  • Mc Cook Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mc Cook Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mc Cook Cemetery
  • Tucker Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Tucker Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Tucker Cemetery
  • Old Field Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Field Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Field Cemetery
  • Penn Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Penn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Penn Cemetery
  • Osierfield Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Osierfield Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Osierfield Cemetery
  • Fairview Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fairview Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fairview Cemetery
  • Kiokee Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Kiokee Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Kiokee Cemetery
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Evergreen Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Evergreen Cemetery
  • Continue List   (282 more) ...
    • Mt. Olive Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Olive Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Olive Cemetery
    • Dorminy Mill Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Dorminy Mill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dorminy Mill Cemetery
    • Frank Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Frank Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Frank Cemetery

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.<4>

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

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

  • China Hill
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for China Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for China Hill
    • China Hill is located in Telfair County
  • Jacksonville
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Temperance
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Temperance have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Temperance
    • Temperance is located in Telfair County
  • Irwinville
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Irwinville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irwinville
    • Irwinville is located in Irwin County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Irwinville <1>
  • Sibbie
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sibbie have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sibbie
    • Sibbie is located in Wilcox County
  • Abba
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abba
    • Abba is located in Ben Hill County
  • Lax
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lax have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lax
    • Lax is located in Coffee County
  • Broxton
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
  • Cobbville
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cobbville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobbville
    • Cobbville is located in Telfair County
  • Rhine
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rhine have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rhine
    • Rhine is located in Dodge County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 364 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rhine <1>
  • Copeland
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Copeland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Copeland
    • Copeland is located in Dodge County
  • Abbeville
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Enigma
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Alapaha
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Douglas
      (22 miles [35.4 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 Ashton. See our List of 1890's Communities around Ashton.

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Ashton. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Ben Hill County: www.benhillcounty.com/

The official website for State of Georgia: https://georgia.gov/

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 location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<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- Ashton) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ashton. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 31.7049, Longitude: -83.1560       In this case, the coordinates for Ashton have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>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 Ashton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024