RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Georgia >> Dougherty County >> Albany >> 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 Albany (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 Albany. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Albany is located in Dougherty County and is the County Seat.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Dougherty County: Baker, Calhoun, Lee, Mitchell, Terrell & Worth.

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

  • Dougherty County     (The home county of Albany)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Albany, with the one closest to Albany listed first.
    • Eugemar
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Eugemar is located in Dougherty County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eugemar
      • Estimated population in 2019: 4,367 people
    • Relswood Terrace
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Relswood Terrace is located in Dougherty County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Relswood Terrace
      • Estimated population in 2019: 1,079 people
    • Hinds
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Hinds is located in Dougherty County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hinds
      • Estimated population in 2019: 33,273 people
    • Lake Park
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Lake Park is located in Dougherty County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Park
      • Estimated population in 2019: 1,207 people
    • West Town
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • West Town is located in Dougherty County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Town
    • Colonial Village
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Colonial Village is located in Dougherty County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colonial Village
    • East Towne
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • East Towne is located in Dougherty County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Towne
    • Elon Village
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Elon Village is located in Dougherty County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elon Village
    • Dawson Heights
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Dawson Heights is located in Dougherty County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawson Heights
      • Estimated population in 2019: 3,246 people
    • Colonial Place
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Colonial Place is located in Dougherty County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colonial Place
    • Tompkins Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Tompkins Village is located in Dougherty County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tompkins Village
    • Turner City
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Turner City is located in Dougherty County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turner City
    • Eleanor Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Eleanor Village is located in Dougherty County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eleanor Village
  • Baker County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Albany, with the one closest to Albany listed first.
    • Newton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Milford
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Hawkinstown
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Hawkinstown is located in Baker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawkinstown
      • Estimated population in 2019: 5,270 people
    • Anna
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Mimsville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Calhoun County
  • Colquitt County
  • Crisp County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Albany, with the one closest to Albany listed first.
    • Milldale ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Milldale is located in Crisp County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milldale
      • Estimated population in 2019: 18,704 people
    • Arabi
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Lee County
  • Mitchell County
  • Randolph County
  • Sumter County
  • Terrell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Albany, with the one closest to Albany listed first.
    • Sasser
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Herod
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Herod is located in Terrell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herod
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 3,384 people
    • Clarks Mill
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Clarks Mill is located in Terrell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarks Mill
      • Estimated population in 2019: 12,637 people
    • Bronwood
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Dawson
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Olivers Mill
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Olivers Mill is located in Terrell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olivers Mill
      • Estimated population in 2019: 230 people
    • Yeomans
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Yeomans is located in Terrell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yeomans
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 507 people
    • Parrott
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Turner County
    • Hobby
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Hobby is located in Turner County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hobby
      • Estimated population in 2019: 536 people
  • Worth County

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

Cemeteries Near Albany ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Albany.

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

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

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

  • Carver Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Riverside Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Oakview Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Crown Hill Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Floral Memory Gardens
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Mt. Bethel Church Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Palmyra Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Lowe Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Thundering Springs Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Blue Springs Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Davis Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Hill Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (170 more) ...
    • Mt. Holder Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Leesburg Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Kiokee Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 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.<2>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Albany had a population of 4,008 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Albany had a population of 70,839 people.

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

  • Palmyra
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Ruark ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Ruark is located in Dougherty County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruark
  • Armena
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Armena is located in Lee County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armena
  • Acree
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Acree is located in Dougherty County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acree
  • Leesburg
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • De Witt
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Sasser
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Baconton
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
  • Willingham ‑ Historic
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Willingham is located in Worth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willingham
  • Parkerville
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Parkerville is located in Worth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkerville
  • Flint
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
  • Isabella
    (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Isabella is located in Worth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isabella
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Doles
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Doles is located in Worth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doles
    • Leary
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Newton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Albany ...

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 22 newspapers that have been published in the area around Albany.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Albany. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Albany and those printed in the larger area surrounding Albany.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 10 miles [16.1 km]<3> of Albany.

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 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 Albany:

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 Albany, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 from Point A (ie- Albany) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.