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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 Ashton (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 Ashton. 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 doctors and 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.

Ashton is located in Ben Hill County.

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 Ben Hill County: Coffee, Irwin, Telfair, Turner & Wilcox.

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

  • Ben Hill County     (The home county of Ashton)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ashton, with the one closest to Ashton listed first.
    • Fitzgerald
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Abba
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Abba is located in Ben Hill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abba
  • Atkinson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ashton, with the one closest to Ashton listed first.
    • Willacoochee
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Leliaton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Leliaton is located in Atkinson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leliaton
  • Berrien County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ashton, with the one closest to Ashton listed first.
    • Alapaha
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Enigma
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Coffee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ashton, with the one closest to Ashton listed first.
    • Ambrose
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Broxton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Douglas
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Mora
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Mora is located in Coffee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mora
      • Estimated population in 2019: 444 people
    • Oak Park
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Oak Park is located in Coffee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Park
      • Estimated population in 2019: 470 people
    • West Green
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
  • Dodge County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ashton, with the one closest to Ashton listed first.
    • Rhine
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Chauncey
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
  • Irwin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ashton, with the one closest to Ashton listed first.
    • Wray
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Ocilla
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Mystic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Irwinville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Arp
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Arp is located in Irwin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arp
  • Jeff Davis County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ashton, with the one closest to Ashton listed first.
    • Kirkland
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Kirkland is located in Jeff Davis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirkland
    • Denton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
  • Telfair County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ashton, with the one closest to Ashton listed first.
    • Jacksonville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Milan
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Helena
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • McRae - Helena
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • McRae
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • McRae is located in Telfair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McRae
    • Scotland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Tift County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ashton, with the one closest to Ashton listed first.
    • Brookfield
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Chula
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Abac
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Tifton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Unionville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Unionville is located in Tift County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unionville
    • Phillipsburg
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Phillipsburg is located in Tift County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phillipsburg
  • Turner County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ashton, with the one closest to Ashton listed first.
    • Rebecca
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Sycamore
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Ashburn
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Wilcox County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ashton, with the one closest to Ashton listed first.
    • Owensboro
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Owensboro is located in Wilcox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Owensboro
    • Abbeville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Rochelle
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Pitts
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Ashton ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ashton.

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

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

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

  • Prospect Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Dicksons Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • McMillan Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Troup Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Mc Cook Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Tucker Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Old Field Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Penn Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Osierfield Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Fairview Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Kiokee Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (283 more) ...
    • Mt. Olive Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Dorminy Mill Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Frank Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)

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>

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

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

  • China Hill
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • China Hill is located in Telfair County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for China Hill
  • Jacksonville
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Temperance
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Temperance is located in Telfair County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Temperance
  • Irwinville
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Sibbie
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Sibbie is located in Wilcox County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sibbie
  • Abba
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Abba is located in Ben Hill County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abba
  • Lax
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Lax is located in Coffee County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lax
  • Broxton
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
  • Cobbville
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Cobbville is located in Telfair County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobbville
  • Rhine
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
  • Copeland
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Copeland is located in Dodge County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Copeland
  • Abbeville
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Enigma
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Alapaha
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Douglas
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Ashton ...

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 21 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ashton.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ashton, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Ashton.

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 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 Ashton:

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 Ashton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Ashton) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.