RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Florida >> Madison County >> Stern >> 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 Stern (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 Stern. 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.

Stern 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 Stern. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Stern:

  • Madison County     (The home county of Stern)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Stern, with the one closest to Stern listed first.
    • Greenville
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Hamburg
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Hamburg is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamburg
    • Madison
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Cherry Lake
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Cherry Lake is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Lake
    • Pinetta
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Lee
      (20 miles [32.2 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
      (21 miles [33.8 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 Stern, with the one closest to Stern listed first.
    • Aucilla
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Aucilla is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aucilla
    • Lamont
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Monticello
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Waukeenah
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Thomas City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Thomas City is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomas City
    • Wacissa
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Lloyd
      (22 miles [35.4 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 Stern, with the one closest to Stern listed first.
    • Miccosukee
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Capitola
      (26 miles [41.8 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 Stern, with the one closest to Stern listed first.
    • Shady Grove
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Perry
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
  • Brooks County (GA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Stern, with the one closest to Stern listed first.
    • Empress
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Empress is located in Brooks County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Empress
    • McIntyre Spring ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 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
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Quitman
      (22 miles [35.4 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
      (27 miles [43.5 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
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Lowndes County (GA)
  • Thomas County (GA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Stern, with the one closest to Stern listed first.
    • Boston
      (24 miles [38.6 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
      (29 miles [46.7 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 Stern, see our County-by-County Page for Stern.

Cemeteries Near Stern ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Stern.

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

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

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

  • Harby Family Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • New Hopewell Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Hensey Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Barclay Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barclay Cemetery
    • The Barclay Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Barclay Family Cemetery
  • Redding Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 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
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Redding Hammock Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Aucilla Fire Tower Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Hurst Family Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Reaper Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Porter Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (175 more) ...
    • Andrews Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Bishop Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Emery Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)

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 Stern in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Stern.

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

  • Greenville
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Aucilla
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Aucilla is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aucilla
  • Hamburg
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Hamburg is located in Madison County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamburg
  • Lamont
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Iddo
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Iddo is located in Taylor County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iddo
  • Madison
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Monticello
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
  • Cherry Lake
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Cherry Lake is located in Madison County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Lake
  • Aucilla ‑ Historic
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Aucilla is located in Thomas County (GA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aucilla
  • Nankin
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Nankin is located in Brooks County (GA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nankin
  • Waukeenah
    (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
  • Lee
    (20 miles [32.2 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>
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Wacissa
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Leland
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Leland is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leland
    • Quitman
      (22 miles [35.4 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 Stern. See our List of 1890's Communities around Stern.

Newspapers Published in Stern ...

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 Stern.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Stern, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Stern.

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 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 Stern:

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