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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 Dillon (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 Dillon. 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 hospitals and 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.

Dillon is located in Thomas 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 Thomas County: Jefferson (FL), Leon (FL), Brooks, Colquitt, Grady & Mitchell.

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

  • Thomas County     (The home county of Dillon)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dillon, with the one closest to Dillon listed first.
    • Fredonia
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Fredonia is located in Thomas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredonia
    • Newark
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Newark is located in Thomas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newark
      • Estimated population in 2019: 783 people
    • Thomasville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Coolidge
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Dewey City
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Dewey City is located in Thomas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dewey City
    • Boston
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Pavo
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Ochlocknee
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Hansell
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Hansell is located in Thomas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hansell
      • Estimated population in 2019: 6,534 people
    • Meigs
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Brooks County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dillon, with the one closest to Dillon listed first.
    • Barwick
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Dixie
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Tallokas ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Tallokas is located in Brooks County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tallokas
      • Estimated population in 2019: 171 people
    • Fodie
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Fodie is located in Brooks County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fodie
      • Estimated population in 2019: 5,037 people
    • Quitman
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Barney
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Morven
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Empress
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Empress is located in Brooks County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Empress
  • Colquitt County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dillon, with the one closest to Dillon listed first.
    • Riverside
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Riverside is located in Colquitt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
    • Berlin
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Funston
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Moultrie
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Hartsfield
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Ellenton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Minnesota
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Minnesota is located in Colquitt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minnesota
    • Norman Park
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Doerun
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • Grady County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dillon, with the one closest to Dillon listed first.
    • Woodland
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Woodland is located in Grady County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland
      • Estimated population in 2019: 353 people
    • Midway
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Midway is located in Grady County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
    • Spence
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Spence is located in Grady County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spence
    • Cairo
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Good Hope ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Good Hope is located in Grady County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Good Hope
      • Estimated population in 2019: 300 people
    • Reno
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Reno is located in Grady County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reno
      • Estimated population in 2019: 285 people
    • Whigham
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Calvary
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Lowndes County
    • Shiloh
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Shiloh is located in Lowndes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh
  • Mitchell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dillon, with the one closest to Dillon listed first.
    • Cotton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Pelham
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Sale City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Pebble City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Pebble City is located in Mitchell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pebble City
    • Camilla
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Jefferson County (FL)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dillon, with the one closest to Dillon listed first.
    • Monticello
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Aucilla
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Aucilla is located in Jefferson County (FL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aucilla
    • Lloyd
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Leon County (FL)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dillon, with the one closest to Dillon listed first.
    • Miccosukee
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Iamonia
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Iamonia is located in Leon County (FL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iamonia
    • Ocklockonee ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Ocklockonee is located in Leon County (FL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocklockonee
    • Bradfordville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Bradfordville is located in Leon County (FL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradfordville

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

Cemeteries Near Dillon ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Dillon.

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

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

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

  • Dillon Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Peacock Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Wilson Cemetery #2
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Benton Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Aucilla Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Centennial Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • St. Paul Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Midway Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Georges Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Bethlehem Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Springhill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (277 more) ...
    • Wilson Cemetery #1
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Williams Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Mt. Calvary Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)

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.<3>

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

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

  • Patten
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Patten is located in Thomas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patten
  • Thomasville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Chastain
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Chastain is located in Thomas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chastain
  • Boston
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Ochlocknee
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Metcalf
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Metcalf is located in Thomas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Metcalf
  • Dixie
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Meigs
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Aucilla ‑ Historic
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Aucilla is located in Thomas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aucilla
  • Berlin
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
  • Moultrie
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
  • Bay
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Bay is located in Colquitt County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay
  • Continue List   (12 more) ...
    • Quitman
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Pelham
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Hartsfield
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)

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

Newspapers Published in Dillon ...

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 32 newspapers that have been published in the area around Dillon.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Dillon, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Dillon.

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 Dillon:

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 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.
<3>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 Dillon, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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- Dillon) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.