RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Florida >> Madison County >> Reams >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Reams (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 Reams. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.

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 west contained birth and death records; the county to the north 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.

Reams is located in Madison 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 Madison County: Hamilton, Jefferson, Lafayette, Suwannee, Taylor, Brooks (GA) & Lowndes (GA).

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

  • Madison County     (The home county of Reams)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Reams, with the one closest to Reams listed first.
    • Greenville
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Hamburg
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Hamburg is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamburg
    • Madison
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Cherry Lake
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Cherry Lake is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Lake
    • Pinetta
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Lee
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Lee is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lee
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 333 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lee <1>
    • Leland
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Leland is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leland
  • Jefferson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Reams, with the one closest to Reams listed first.
    • Aucilla
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Aucilla is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aucilla
    • Lamont
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Monticello
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Waukeenah
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Thomas City
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Thomas City is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomas City
    • Wacissa
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Lloyd
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
  • Lafayette County
    • Day
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Leon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Reams, with the one closest to Reams listed first.
    • Miccosukee
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Capitola
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Capitola is located in Leon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Capitola
  • Suwannee County
    • Dowling Park
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Dowling Park is located in Suwannee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dowling Park
  • Taylor County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Reams, with the one closest to Reams listed first.
    • Shady Grove
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Perry
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
  • Brooks County (GA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Reams, with the one closest to Reams listed first.
    • Empress
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Empress is located in Brooks County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Empress
    • McIntyre Spring ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • McIntyre Spring is located in Brooks County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McIntyre Spring
      • Estimated population in 2019: 605 people
    • Dixie
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Quitman
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • 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>
    • Fodie
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Fodie is located in Brooks County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fodie
      • Estimated population in 2019: 5,037 people
    • Barwick
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
  • Lowndes County (GA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Reams, with the one closest to Reams listed first.
    • Clyattville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Dasher
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Dasher is located in Lowndes County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dasher
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,025 people
    • Lake Park
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Thomas County (GA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Reams, with the one closest to Reams listed first.
    • Boston
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • 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
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Newark is located in Thomas County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newark
      • Estimated population in 2019: 783 people

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

Cemeteries Near Reams ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Reams.

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

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

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

  • Harby Family Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Redding Hammock Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • New Hopewell Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Redding Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redding Cemetery
    • The Redding Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Redding Family Cemetery
  • Smith Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Reaper Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Hensey Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Barclay Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barclay Cemetery
    • The Barclay Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Barclay Family Cemetery
  • Hurst Family Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Aucilla Fire Tower Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Porter Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (187 more) ...
    • Bishop Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Andrews Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Ebenezer UMC Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 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 Reams in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Reams.

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

  • Greenville
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Aucilla
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Aucilla is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aucilla
  • Hamburg
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Hamburg is located in Madison County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamburg
  • Madison
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Lamont
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Cherry Lake
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Cherry Lake is located in Madison County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Lake
  • Iddo
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Iddo is located in Taylor County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iddo
  • Nankin
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Nankin is located in Brooks County (GA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nankin
  • Monticello
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
  • Aucilla ‑ Historic
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Aucilla is located in Thomas County (GA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aucilla
  • Lee
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Lee is located in Madison County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lee
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 333 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lee <1>
  • Leland
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Leland is located in Madison County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leland
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Waukeenah
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Dixie
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Quitman
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • 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>

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

Newspapers Published in Reams ...

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 40 newspapers that have been published in the area around Reams.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Reams, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Reams.

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 websites either 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 Reams:

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 Reams, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Reams) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.