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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 Blue Springs (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 Blue Springs. 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.

Name Variations for Blue Springs ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Blue Springs: Blue Spgs. (or less commonly used: Blue Spngs. or Blue Sprngs.)

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

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 hospitals and 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.

Blue Springs is located in Brooks 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 Brooks County: Jefferson (FL), Madison (FL), Colquitt, Cook, Lowndes & Thomas.

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

  • Brooks County     (The home county of Blue Springs)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blue Springs, with the one closest to Blue Springs listed first.
    • Fodie
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fodie
      • Fodie is located in Brooks County
      • Estimated population in 2019: 5,037 people
    • Quitman
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Morven
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Morven have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morven
      • Morven is located in Brooks County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 544 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Morven <1>
    • Empress
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Empress
      • Empress is located in Brooks County
    • McIntyre Spring ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McIntyre Spring have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McIntyre Spring
      • McIntyre Spring is located in Brooks County
      • Estimated population in 2019: 605 people
    • Dixie
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Barney
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Tallokas ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tallokas have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tallokas
      • Tallokas is located in Brooks County
      • Estimated population in 2019: 171 people
    • Barwick
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
  • Berrien County
    • Ray City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ray City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ray City
      • Ray City is located in Berrien County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,105 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ray City <1>
  • Colquitt County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blue Springs, with the one closest to Blue Springs listed first.
    • Berlin
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Ellenton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
  • Cook County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blue Springs, with the one closest to Blue Springs listed first.
    • Cecil
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Adel
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Sparks
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
  • Echols County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blue Springs, with the one closest to Blue Springs listed first.
    • Howell
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howell
      • Howell is located in Echols County
    • Statenville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Statenville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Statenville
      • Statenville is located in Echols County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Statenville <1>
  • Lanier County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blue Springs, with the one closest to Blue Springs listed first.
    • Stockton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Lakeland
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lakeland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeland
      • Lakeland is located in Lanier County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,342 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lakeland <1>
  • Lowndes County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blue Springs, with the one closest to Blue Springs listed first.
    • Remerton
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Remerton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Remerton
      • Remerton is located in Lowndes County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,061 people
    • Valdosta
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Shiloh
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh
      • Shiloh is located in Lowndes County
    • Barko Village
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Barko Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barko Village
      • Barko Village is located in Lowndes County
    • Mineola
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mineola have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineola
      • Mineola is located in Lowndes County
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 150 people
    • Clyattville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Dasher
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dasher have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dasher
      • Dasher is located in Lowndes County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,025 people
    • Hahira
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Franklinville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Franklinville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklinville
      • Franklinville is located in Lowndes County
      • Estimated population in 2019: 971 people
    • Lake Park
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Melrose
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose
      • Melrose is located in Lowndes County
    • Naylor
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Naylor have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naylor
      • Naylor is located in Lowndes County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Naylor <1>
  • Thomas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blue Springs, with the one closest to Blue Springs listed first.
    • Boston
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Pavo
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Newark
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Newark have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newark
      • Newark is located in Thomas County
      • Estimated population in 2019: 783 people
    • Coolidge
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Fredonia
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredonia
      • Fredonia is located in Thomas County
  • Hamilton County (FL)
    • Jennings
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
  • Jefferson County (FL)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blue Springs, with the one closest to Blue Springs listed first.
    • Aucilla
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aucilla
      • Aucilla is located in Jefferson County (FL)
    • Monticello
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Madison County (FL)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blue Springs, with the one closest to Blue Springs listed first.
    • Cherry Lake
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Lake
      • Cherry Lake is located in Madison County (FL)
    • Leland
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leland
      • Leland is located in Madison County (FL)
    • Pinetta
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Hamburg
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hamburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamburg
      • Hamburg is located in Madison County (FL)
    • Madison
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madison
      • Madison is located in Madison County (FL)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,789 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Madison <1>
    • Greenville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Lee
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lee
      • Lee is located in Madison County (FL)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 333 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lee <1>

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

Newspapers Published in Blue Springs ...

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 55 newspapers that have been published in the area around Blue Springs.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Blue Springs, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Blue Springs.

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 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 Blue Springs:

Cemeteries Near Blue Springs ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Blue Springs.

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

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

  • Morning Star Baptist Church Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Philadelphia Baptist Church Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Lebanon Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Redland Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Redland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Redland Cemetery
  • Concord Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • North End Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Oak Hill Cemetery (East)
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Oak Hill Cemetery (West)
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Worn Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Worn Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Worn Cemetery
  • West End Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Rizer Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Mt. Horeb Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (210 more) ...
    • Pallbearers Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pallbearers Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pallbearers Cemetery
    • Bethlehem Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • The Bethlehem Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Bethlehem Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bethlehem Cemetery
    • Columbia Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 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.<5>

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

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

  • Ousley
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ousley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ousley
    • Ousley is located in Lowndes County
  • Quitman
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Nankin
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nankin have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nankin
    • Nankin is located in Brooks County
  • Morven
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Morven have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morven
    • Morven is located in Brooks County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 544 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Morven <1>
  • Clyattville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Valdosta
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Mineola
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mineola have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineola
    • Mineola is located in Lowndes County
    • Population from the 2010 Census: 150 people
  • Dixie
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Cherry Lake
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Lake
    • Cherry Lake is located in Madison County (FL)
  • Leland
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leland
    • Leland is located in Madison County (FL)
  • Dasher
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dasher have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dasher
    • Dasher is located in Lowndes County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,025 people
  • Hahira
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Hamburg
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hamburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamburg
      • Hamburg is located in Madison County (FL)
    • Lake Park
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Boston
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)

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

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

The official website for Brooks County: www.brooks-county.org/

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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Blue Springs) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Blue Springs. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 30.7899, Longitude: -83.4565       In this case, the coordinates for Blue Springs have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<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 Blue Springs, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024