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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 West Lake (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 West Lake. 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 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.

West Lake is located in Hamilton 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 Hamilton County: Columbia, Madison, Suwannee, Echols (GA) & Lowndes (GA).

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

  • Hamilton County     (The home county of West Lake)
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Lake, with the one closest to West Lake listed first.
    • Jennings
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Jasper
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Marion
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Marion is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marion
    • Bakers Mill
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Bakers Mill is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bakers Mill
    • White Springs
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
  • Lafayette County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Lake, with the one closest to West Lake listed first.
    • Day
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Buckville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Buckville is located in Lafayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckville
  • Madison County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Lake, with the one closest to West Lake listed first.
    • Lee
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • 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
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Leland is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leland
    • Pinetta
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Madison
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Cherry Lake
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Cherry Lake is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Lake
    • Hamburg
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Hamburg is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamburg
    • Greenville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Suwannee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Lake, with the one closest to West Lake listed first.
    • Rixford
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Rixford is located in Suwannee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rixford
    • Live Oak
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Dowling Park
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Dowling Park is located in Suwannee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dowling Park
    • Padlock
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Padlock is located in Suwannee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Padlock
    • Wellborn
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • McAlpin
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
  • Brooks County (GA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Lake, with the one closest to West Lake listed first.
    • McIntyre Spring ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • McIntyre Spring is located in Brooks County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McIntyre Spring
      • Estimated population in 2019: 605 people
    • Empress
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Empress is located in Brooks County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Empress
  • Echols County (GA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Lake, with the one closest to West Lake listed first.
    • Statenville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Potter
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Potter is located in Echols County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Potter
      • Estimated population in 2019: 870 people
    • Howell
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Howell is located in Echols County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howell
    • Fruitland
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Fruitland is located in Echols County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruitland
  • Lanier County (GA)
  • Lowndes County (GA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Lake, with the one closest to West Lake listed first.
    • Melrose
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Melrose is located in Lowndes County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose
    • Lake Park
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Clyattville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Dasher
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Dasher is located in Lowndes County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dasher
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,025 people
    • Valdosta
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Valdosta is located in Lowndes County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valdosta
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 56,668 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Valdosta <1>
    • Remerton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Remerton is located in Lowndes County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Remerton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,061 people
    • Naylor
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Barko Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Barko Village is located in Lowndes County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barko Village

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

Cemeteries Near West Lake ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Lake.

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 West Lake - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • West Lake Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • New Hope Baptist Church Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Blair Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • McCall Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Bluff Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Sasser Landing Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Geiger Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Blue Springs Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Drew Family Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Old Columbus Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Mitchell Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Nunn Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (112 more) ...
    • Nunn Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Beulah Baptist Church Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Dean Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)

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

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

  • Octahatchee
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Octahatchee is located in Hamilton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Octahatchee
  • Avoca
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Avoca is located in Hamilton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avoca
  • Jennings
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Jasper
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Melrose
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Melrose is located in Lowndes County (GA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose
  • Marion
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Marion is located in Hamilton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marion
  • Bakers Mill
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Bakers Mill is located in Hamilton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bakers Mill
  • Lee
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • 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>
  • Lake Park
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Rixford
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Rixford is located in Suwannee County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rixford
  • Statenville
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • Leland
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Leland is located in Madison County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leland
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Live Oak
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Tarver
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Tarver is located in Echols County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tarver
    • Clyattville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)

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

Newspapers Published in West Lake ...

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 24 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Lake.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Lake, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Lake.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start 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 West Lake:

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 West Lake, 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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- West Lake) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.