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A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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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 Drifton (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 Drifton. 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 hospitals and doctors 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.

Drifton is located in Jefferson County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Jefferson County: Leon, Madison, Taylor, Wakulla, Brooks (GA) & Thomas (GA).

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

  • Jefferson County     (The home county of Drifton)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Drifton, with the one closest to Drifton listed first.
    • Monticello
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Aucilla
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Aucilla is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aucilla
    • Waukeenah
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Lamont
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Lloyd
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Thomas City
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Thomas City is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomas City
    • Wacissa
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Leon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Drifton, with the one closest to Drifton listed first.
    • Miccosukee
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Capitola
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Capitola is located in Leon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Capitola
    • Iamonia
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Iamonia is located in Leon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iamonia
    • Bradfordville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Bradfordville is located in Leon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradfordville
    • Tallahassee
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Woodville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Ocklockonee ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Ocklockonee is located in Leon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocklockonee
  • Madison County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Drifton, with the one closest to Drifton listed first.
    • Greenville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Hamburg
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Hamburg is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamburg
    • Cherry Lake
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Cherry Lake is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Lake
    • Madison
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
  • Taylor County
  • Wakulla County
    • Saint Marks
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Brooks County (GA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Drifton, with the one closest to Drifton listed first.
    • Empress
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Empress is located in Brooks County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Empress
    • Dixie
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Quitman
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Quitman is located in Brooks County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quitman
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,625 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Quitman <1>
    • Barwick
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
  • Grady County (GA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Drifton, with the one closest to Drifton listed first.
    • Midway
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Midway is located in Grady County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
    • Good Hope ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Good Hope is located in Grady County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Good Hope
      • Estimated population in 2019: 300 people
  • Thomas County (GA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Drifton, with the one closest to Drifton listed first.
    • Boston
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Boston is located in Thomas County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boston
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,313 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Boston <1>
    • Newark
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Newark is located in Thomas County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newark
      • Estimated population in 2019: 783 people
    • Dewey City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Dewey City is located in Thomas County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dewey City
    • Thomasville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Fredonia
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Fredonia is located in Thomas County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredonia

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

Cemeteries Near Drifton ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Drifton.

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

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

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

  • Oakfield Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Sneeds Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Roseland Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Scruggs Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Browns Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Texas Hill Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Mt. Olive Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Kinsey Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Bellamy Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Milton Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Mt. Marille Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Elizabeth Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (206 more) ...
    • Mt. Zion Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mt. Zion Cemetery
      • The Mt. Zion Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Mt. Zion AME Church Cemetery
    • Anderson Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Bishop Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)

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.<2>

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

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

  • Monticello
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Waukeenah
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Aucilla
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Aucilla is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aucilla
  • Lamont
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Lloyd
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Wacissa
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Miccosukee
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Aucilla ‑ Historic
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Aucilla is located in Thomas County (GA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aucilla
  • Chaires
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Chaires is located in Leon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chaires
  • Greenville
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Metcalf
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Metcalf is located in Thomas County (GA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Metcalf
  • Iddo
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Iddo is located in Taylor County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iddo
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Iamonia
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Iamonia is located in Leon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iamonia
    • Bradfordville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Bradfordville is located in Leon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradfordville
    • Hamburg
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Hamburg is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamburg

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

Newspapers Published in Drifton ...

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 89 newspapers that have been published in the area around Drifton.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Drifton, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Drifton.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 Drifton:

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>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 Drifton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Drifton) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.