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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

So far, we found very little information about Alton. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>

We've added Alton to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Alton, please Contact Us.

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 Alton (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 Alton. 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.

Although our information shows that the community of Alton is historic, it would have been located within present day Tattnall County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Tattnall County: Appling, Candler, Emanuel, Evans, Liberty, Long, Toombs & Wayne.

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

  • Tattnall County     (The home county of Alton)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alton, with the one closest to Alton listed first.
    • Glennville
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Mendes
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mendes have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mendes
      • Mendes is located in Tattnall County
      • Estimated population in 2019: 456 people
    • Midway
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
      • Midway is located in Tattnall County
      • Estimated population in 2019: 657 people
    • Reidsville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reidsville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reidsville
      • Reidsville is located in Tattnall County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,665 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Reidsville <2>
    • Manassas
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Collins
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Cobbtown
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobbtown
      • Cobbtown is located in Tattnall County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 342 people
      • Former name for Cobbtown:
      • Cobb Town
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cobbtown <2>
  • Appling County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alton, with the one closest to Alton listed first.
    • Surrency
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Baxley
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Phillipi
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Phillipi have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phillipi
      • Phillipi is located in Appling County
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 707 people
  • Bryan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alton, with the one closest to Alton listed first.
    • Pembroke
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pembroke have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pembroke
      • Pembroke is located in Bryan County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,683 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pembroke <2>
    • Ellabell
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Bulloch County
    • Statesborough
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Statesborough have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Statesborough
      • Statesborough is located in Bulloch County
      • Estimated population in 2019: 32,954 people
  • Evans County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alton, with the one closest to Alton listed first.
    • Hagan
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Bellville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Claxton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Daisy
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
  • Liberty County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alton, with the one closest to Alton listed first.
    • Gum Branch
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gum Branch have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gum Branch
      • Gum Branch is located in Liberty County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 269 people
    • Fort Stewart
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Bryan Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bryan Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryan Village
      • Bryan Village is located in Liberty County
    • Cherokee Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cherokee Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherokee Village
      • Cherokee Village is located in Liberty County
    • Hinesville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Pineview
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pineview have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pineview
      • Pineview is located in Liberty County
      • Estimated population in 2019: 489 people
    • Walthourville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Walthourville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walthourville
      • Walthourville is located in Liberty County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,065 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Walthourville <2>
    • Doe Run Estates
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Doe Run Estates have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doe Run Estates
      • Doe Run Estates is located in Liberty County
      • Estimated population in 2019: 736 people
    • Garden Acres
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garden Acres have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Acres
      • Garden Acres is located in Liberty County
      • Estimated population in 2019: 8,713 people
    • Martin Woods
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Martin Woods have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martin Woods
      • Martin Woods is located in Liberty County
      • Estimated population in 2019: 383 people
    • Tupelo Trail
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tupelo Trail have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tupelo Trail
      • Tupelo Trail is located in Liberty County
      • Estimated population in 2019: 347 people
    • Allenhurst
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
  • Long County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alton, with the one closest to Alton listed first.
    • Donald
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donald
      • Donald is located in Long County
      • Estimated population in 2019: 2,466 people
    • Ludowici
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ludowici have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ludowici
      • Ludowici is located in Long County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,352 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ludowici <2>
  • Toombs County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alton, with the one closest to Alton listed first.
    • Ohoopee
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ohoopee
      • Ohoopee is located in Toombs County
    • Toombs Central
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Toombs Central have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toombs Central
      • Toombs Central is located in Toombs County
      • Estimated population in 2019: 486 people
    • Cedar Crossing
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Crossing
      • Cedar Crossing is located in Toombs County
  • Wayne County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alton, with the one closest to Alton listed first.
    • Madray Springs
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madray Springs
      • Madray Springs is located in Wayne County
    • Odum
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jesup
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Pendarvis
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pendarvis have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pendarvis
      • Pendarvis is located in Wayne County
      • Estimated population in 2019: 562 people
    • Screven
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)

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

Newspapers Published in Alton ...

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 36 newspapers that have been published in the area around Alton.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Alton, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Alton.

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 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 Alton:

Cemeteries Near Alton ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Alton.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

  • Old Halltown Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Ebenezer FWB Church Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Glennville City Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • First Baptist Church Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • DeLoach Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Zion Travel Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Zion Travel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Zion Travel Cemetery
  • Glennville Memorial Gardens
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Georgia Veterans Memorial Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Pigot Branch MB Church Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Macedonia Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Macedonia Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Macedonia Cemetery
  • Gaps of the Bays Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gaps of the Bays Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gaps of the Bays Cemetery
  • Smith Chapel Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Smith Chapel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Smith Chapel Cemetery
  • Continue List   (217 more) ...
    • Oak Grove Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oak Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oak Grove Cemetery
    • Bradley - Anderson Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Poplar Head Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Poplar Head Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Poplar Head Cemetery

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.

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

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

  • Glennville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Birdford ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Birdford have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birdford
    • Birdford is located in Tattnall County
  • Tison
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tison have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tison
    • Tison is located in Tattnall County
  • Gum Branch
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gum Branch have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gum Branch
    • Gum Branch is located in Liberty County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 269 people
  • Taylors Creek ‑ Historic
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Taylors Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylors Creek
    • Taylors Creek is located in Liberty County
  • Odum
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Doctortown
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Doctortown have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doctortown
    • Doctortown is located in Wayne County
  • Brentwood
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brentwood have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brentwood
    • Brentwood is located in Wayne County
  • Walthourville
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Walthourville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walthourville
    • Walthourville is located in Liberty County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,065 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Walthourville <2>
  • Hinesville
    (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
  • Reidsville
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reidsville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reidsville
    • Reidsville is located in Tattnall County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,665 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Reidsville <2>
  • Altamaha
    (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Altamaha have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altamaha
    • Altamaha is located in Tattnall County
    • Former name for Altamaha:
    • Atamaha
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Jesup
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Manassas
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Surrency
      (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 Alton. See our List of 1890's Communities around Alton.

The official website for Tattnall County: www.tattnall.com/

The official website for State of Georgia: https://georgia.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Alton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Alton) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Alton. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 31.8971, Longitude: -81.9093       In this case, the coordinates for Alton have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024