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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 Clayton (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 Clayton. 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 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.

Clayton is located in Rabun County and is the County Seat.

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 Rabun County: Habersham, Towns, Clay (NC), Jackson (NC), Macon (NC) & Oconee (SC).

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

  • Rabun County     (The home county of Clayton)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clayton, with the one closest to Clayton listed first.
    • Mountain City
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mountain City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain City
      • Mountain City is located in Rabun County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,113 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mountain City <2>
    • Tiger
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Germany
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Germany. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Germany
      • Germany is located in Rabun County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Germany
      • From Clayton to Germany
    • Antioch
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Wiley
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wiley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wiley
      • Wiley is located in Rabun County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wiley <2>
    • Dillard
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Lakemont
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Sky Valley
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sky Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sky Valley
      • Sky Valley is located in Rabun County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 273 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sky Valley <2>
    • Tallulah Falls
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tallulah Falls have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tallulah Falls
      • Tallulah Falls is located in Rabun County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 172 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tallulah Falls <2>
  • Habersham County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clayton, with the one closest to Clayton listed first.
    • Tugaloo
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Tugaloo. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tugaloo
      • Tugaloo is located in Habersham County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Tugaloo
      • From Clayton to Tugaloo
    • Turnerville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Turnerville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turnerville
      • Turnerville is located in Habersham County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Turnerville <2>
    • Clarkesville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Hills
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hills
      • Hills is located in Habersham County
    • Mauldins ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mauldins have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mauldins
      • Mauldins is located in Habersham County
      • Estimated population in 2019: 225 people
    • Demorest
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Mount Airy
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Cornelia
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Baldwin
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Alto
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Stephens County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clayton, with the one closest to Clayton listed first.
    • Toccoa Falls
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Toccoa Falls have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toccoa Falls
      • Toccoa Falls is located in Stephens County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Toccoa Falls <2>
    • Jarrett
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jarrett have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jarrett
      • Jarrett is located in Stephens County
      • Estimated population in 2019: 3,974 people
    • Toccoa
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Carnes Creek
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carnes Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carnes Creek
      • Carnes Creek is located in Stephens County
      • Estimated population in 2019: 601 people
    • Eastanollee
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Avalon
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Avalon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avalon
      • Avalon is located in Stephens County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 226 people
    • Martin
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Towns County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clayton, with the one closest to Clayton listed first.
    • Tate City
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tate City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tate City
      • Tate City is located in Towns County
    • Hiawassee
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Hunt ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hunt. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunt
      • Hunt is located in Towns County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hunt
      • From Clayton to Hunt
    • Young Harris
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Young Harris have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Young Harris
      • Young Harris is located in Towns County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,668 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Young Harris <2>
    • Jacksonville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
  • Union County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clayton, with the one closest to Clayton listed first.
    • Choestoe
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Choestoe. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Choestoe
      • Choestoe is located in Union County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Choestoe
      • From Clayton to Choestoe
    • Hood ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hood
      • Hood is located in Union County
    • Owltown
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Owltown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Owltown
      • Owltown is located in Union County
      • Estimated population in 2019: 2,346 people
  • White County
  • Cherokee County (NC)
  • Clay County (NC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clayton, with the one closest to Clayton listed first.
    • Elf
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Elf. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elf
      • Elf is located in Clay County (NC)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Elf
      • From Clayton to Elf
    • Hayesville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Warne
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Warne have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warne
      • Warne is located in Clay County (NC)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Warne <2>
  • Jackson County (NC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clayton, with the one closest to Clayton listed first.
    • Highlands
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Cashiers
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Erastus
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Erastus. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erastus
      • Erastus is located in Jackson County (NC)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Erastus
      • From Clayton to Erastus
    • Glenville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Glenville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenville
      • Glenville is located in Jackson County (NC)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Glenville <2>
  • Macon County (NC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clayton, with the one closest to Clayton listed first.
    • Scaly Mountain
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Otto
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Lickskillet
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lickskillet. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lickskillet
      • Lickskillet is located in Macon County (NC)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Lickskillet
      • From Clayton to Lickskillet
    • Riverside
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Franklin
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Ellijay
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ellijay. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellijay
      • Ellijay is located in Macon County (NC)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Ellijay
      • From Clayton to Ellijay
    • Leatherman
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Leatherman. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leatherman
      • Leatherman is located in Macon County (NC)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Leatherman
      • From Clayton to Leatherman
    • Tellico
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Tellico. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tellico
      • Tellico is located in Macon County (NC)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Tellico
      • From Clayton to Tellico
    • Fairview
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Fairview. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
      • Fairview is located in Macon County (NC)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Fairview
      • From Clayton to Fairview
  • Transylvania County (NC)
    • Sapphire
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sapphire have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sapphire
      • Sapphire is located in Transylvania County (NC)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sapphire <2>
  • Oconee County (SC)

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

Cemeteries Near Clayton ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Clayton.

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

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

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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Clayton had a population of 280 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Clayton had a population of 2,103 people.

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

  • Tiger
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Persimmon
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Persimmon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Persimmon
    • Persimmon is located in Rabun County
  • Blalock
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blalock have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blalock
    • Blalock is located in Rabun County
  • Tallulah Falls
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tallulah Falls have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tallulah Falls
    • Tallulah Falls is located in Rabun County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 172 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tallulah Falls <2>
  • Battle Creek
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Longcreek
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Scaly Mountain
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Tugaloo
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Tugaloo. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tugaloo
    • Tugaloo is located in Habersham County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Tugaloo
    • From Clayton to Tugaloo
  • Whetstone
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Whetstone have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whetstone
    • Whetstone is located in Oconee County (SC)
  • Pine Mountain
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pine Mountain have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Mountain
    • Pine Mountain is located in Rabun County
  • Otto
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Turnerville
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Turnerville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turnerville
    • Turnerville is located in Habersham County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Turnerville <2>
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Clayton ...

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 35 newspapers that have been published in the area around Clayton.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Clayton. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Clayton and those printed in the larger area surrounding Clayton.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 23 miles [37 km]<5> of Clayton.

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 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 Clayton:

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

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<4>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 Clayton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>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 from Point A (ie- Clayton) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Clayton. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.8783, Longitude: -83.3994    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025