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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 Bethel (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 Bethel. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Bethel is located in Appling 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 Appling County: Bacon, Jeff Davis, Pierce, Tattnall, Toombs & Wayne.

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

  • Appling County     (The home county of Bethel)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
    • Surrency
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Baxley
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Phillipi
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Phillipi have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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
    • Graham
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Graham have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graham
      • Graham is located in Appling County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 289 people
  • Bacon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
    • Coffee
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coffee
      • Coffee is located in Bacon County
    • Alma
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alma
      • Alma is located in Bacon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,336 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alma <1>
    • Guysie
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Guysie have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guysie
      • Guysie is located in Bacon County
      • Estimated population in 2019: 2,226 people
  • Evans County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
    • Bellville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Hagan
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Claxton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Daisy
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Jeff Davis County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
    • Quinn ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Quinn have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quinn
      • Quinn is located in Jeff Davis County
      • Estimated population in 2019: 3,652 people
    • Tallahassee
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tallahassee have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tallahassee
      • Tallahassee is located in Jeff Davis County
      • Estimated population in 2019: 3,185 people
    • Hazlehurst
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
  • Liberty County
    • Gum Branch
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gum Branch have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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
  • Long County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
    • Donald
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donald
      • Donald is located in Long County
      • Estimated population in 2019: 2,466 people
    • Ludowici
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ludowici have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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 <1>
  • Montgomery County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
    • Uvalda
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Alston
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Petross
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Petross have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petross
      • Petross is located in Montgomery County
  • Pierce County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
    • Mershon
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Bristol
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Offerman
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Patterson
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Tattnall County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
    • Glennville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Mendes
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mendes have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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
    • Reidsville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reidsville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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 <1>
    • Midway
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
      • Midway is located in Tattnall County
      • Estimated population in 2019: 657 people
    • Collins
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Manassas
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
  • Toombs County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
    • Toombs Central
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Toombs Central have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Crossing
      • Cedar Crossing is located in Toombs County
    • Rock Springs
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Springs
      • Rock Springs is located in Toombs County
    • Ohoopee
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ohoopee
      • Ohoopee is located in Toombs County
    • Santa Claus
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Santa Claus have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santa Claus
      • Santa Claus is located in Toombs County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 160 people
    • Lyons
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
  • Wayne County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
    • Madray Springs
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madray Springs
      • Madray Springs is located in Wayne County
    • Odum
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Jesup
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Screven
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)

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

Newspapers Published in Bethel ...

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 37 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bethel.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bethel, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bethel.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 Bethel:

Cemeteries Near Bethel ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bethel.

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 Bethel covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Easons Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Easons Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Easons Cemetery
  • Davis Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Davis Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Davis Cemetery
  • Moody - Tillman Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Moody - Tillman Cemetery is located 7 miles [11.3 km]<3> to the southwest of Surrency.
    • The Moody - Tillman Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Blantons Chapel Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Moody - Tillman Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #35427 <4>
  • Woods Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Woods Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Woods Cemetery
  • Thompson Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Thompson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Thompson Cemetery
  • Joyner Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Joyner Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Joyner Cemetery
  • Tillman Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Tillman Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Tillman Cemetery
  • Warren Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Warren Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Warren Cemetery
  • O'Quinn Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the O'Quinn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the O'Quinn Cemetery
  • Surrency Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Matlock Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Matlock Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Matlock Cemetery
  • Stanfield Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Stanfield Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Stanfield Cemetery
  • Continue List   (277 more) ...
    • McArthur Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the McArthur Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the McArthur Cemetery
    • Yeoman Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Yeoman Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Yeoman Cemetery
    • Surrency Grove Baptist Church Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 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.<5>

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

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

  • Surrency
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Wheaton
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wheaton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheaton
    • Wheaton is located in Appling County
  • Brentwood
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brentwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brentwood
    • Brentwood is located in Wayne County
  • Altamaha
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Altamaha have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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
  • Tison
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tison have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tison
    • Tison is located in Tattnall County
  • Baxley
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Odum
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Prentiss
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prentiss have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prentiss
    • Prentiss is located in Appling County
  • Glennville
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
  • English Eddy
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for English Eddy have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for English Eddy
    • English Eddy is located in Toombs County
  • Pine Grove
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pine Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Grove
    • Pine Grove is located in Appling County
  • Birdford ‑ Historic
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Birdford have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birdford
    • Birdford is located in Tattnall County
  • Continue List   (12 more) ...
    • Reidsville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reidsville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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 <1>
    • Ritch
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ritch have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ritch
      • Ritch is located in Wayne County
    • Graham
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Graham have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graham
      • Graham is located in Appling County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 289 people

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

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Bethel. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Appling County: www.baxley.org/site/

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

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 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.
<3>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- Bethel) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Bethel. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 31.8233, Longitude: -82.1482       In this case, the coordinates for Bethel have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>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.
<5>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 Bethel, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024