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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 Girard (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 Girard. 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 northeast 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 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 east 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.

Girard is located in Burke 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 Burke County: Emanuel, Jefferson, Jenkins, Richmond, Screven, Aiken (SC), Allendale (SC) & Barnwell (SC).

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

  • Burke County     (The home county of Girard)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Girard, with the one closest to Girard listed first.
    • Sardis
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Munnerlyn
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Munnerlyn. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Munnerlyn
      • Munnerlyn is located in Burke County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Munnerlyn
      • From Girard to Munnerlyn
    • Thomas Station
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Thomas Station have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomas Station
      • Thomas Station is located in Burke County
      • Estimated population in 2019: 8,752 people
    • Waynesboro
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Drone
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Drone have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drone
      • Drone is located in Burke County
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 14,568 people
    • Gough
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Torbit Station ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Torbit Station. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Torbit Station
      • Torbit Station is located in Burke County
      • Torbit Station has also been known as:
      • Torbit
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Torbit Station
      • From Girard to Torbit Station
    • Rosier
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
    • Saint Clair
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
    • Vidette
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Jenkins County
  • Richmond County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Girard, with the one closest to Girard listed first.
    • Nixon ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • De Bruce
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for De Bruce have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Bruce
      • De Bruce is located in Richmond County
      • Estimated population in 2019: 25,696 people
    • Hephzibah
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Gracewood
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Fairvale
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fairvale have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairvale
      • Fairvale is located in Richmond County
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 6,769 people
    • Pepperidge
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Screven County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Girard, with the one closest to Girard listed first.
    • Millhaven
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Hilltonia
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hilltonia came from an uncertain source and they still need to be verified:<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilltonia
      • Hilltonia is located in Screven County
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 262 people
    • Hiltonia
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Sylvania
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Zeigler
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Rocky Ford
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rocky Ford have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Ford
      • Rocky Ford is located in Screven County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 137 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rocky Ford <1>
    • Captolo
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Captolo. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Captolo
      • Captolo is located in Screven County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Captolo
      • From Girard to Captolo
    • Ogeechee ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • Aiken County (SC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Girard, with the one closest to Girard listed first.
    • Bush ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bush have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bush
      • Bush is located in Aiken County (SC)
    • Cowden
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cowden. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowden
      • Cowden is located in Aiken County (SC)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Cowden
      • From Girard to Cowden
    • Hawthorne ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hawthorne have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawthorne
      • Hawthorne is located in Aiken County (SC)
    • Jackson
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Kathwood
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Kathwood. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kathwood
      • Kathwood is located in Aiken County (SC)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Kathwood
      • From Girard to Kathwood
    • Browns Hill ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Browns Hill. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browns Hill
      • Browns Hill is located in Aiken County (SC)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Browns Hill
      • From Girard to Browns Hill
    • Talatha
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • New Ellenton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Beech Island
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Savanna Town ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Savanna Town have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Savanna Town
      • Savanna Town is located in Aiken County (SC)
  • Allendale County (SC)
  • Barnwell County (SC)
  • Hampton County (SC)

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

Cemeteries Near Girard ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Girard.

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

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

  • Bethany Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bethany Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bethany Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Smith Chapel Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Smith Chapel Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Smith Chapel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Moody Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Moody Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Moody Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bethlehem Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bethlehem Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bethlehem Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Godbee Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Godbee Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Godbee Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Heath Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Heath Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Heath Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mallard - Holland Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Clark Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Clark Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Clark Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hickman Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hickman Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hickman Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Wimberly Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wimberly Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wimberly Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Paul Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Paul Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Paul Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Red Hill Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Red Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Red Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (222 more) ...
    • Beech Branch Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Beech Branch Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Beech Branch Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Sardis Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sardis Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sardis Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jenkins Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Jenkins Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Jenkins Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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.<7>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Girard had a population of 327 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Girard had a population of 150 people.

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

  • Sardis
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Hattieville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hattieville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hattieville
    • Hattieville is located in Barnwell County (SC)
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Hattieville
    • From Girard to Hattieville
  • Millhaven
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Alexander
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alexander have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexander
    • Alexander is located in Burke County
  • Shell Bluff
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shell Bluff have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shell Bluff
    • Shell Bluff is located in Burke County
  • Bascom
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bascom have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bascom
    • Bascom is located in Screven County
  • Dunbarton ‑ Historic
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dunbarton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunbarton
    • Dunbarton is located in Barnwell County (SC)
  • Munnerlyn
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Munnerlyn. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Munnerlyn
    • Munnerlyn is located in Burke County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Munnerlyn
    • From Girard to Munnerlyn
  • Cowden
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cowden. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowden
    • Cowden is located in Aiken County (SC)
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Cowden
    • From Girard to Cowden
  • Greenland ‑ Historic
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenland have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenland
    • Greenland is located in Barnwell County (SC)
  • Waynesboro
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
  • Hawthorne ‑ Historic
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hawthorne have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawthorne
    • Hawthorne is located in Aiken County (SC)
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • McBean
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McBean have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McBean
      • McBean is located in Richmond County
    • Jackson
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Zeigler
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)

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

Newspapers Published in Girard ...

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 22 newspapers that have been published in the area around Girard.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Girard, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Girard.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Girard:

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

The official website for Burke County: www.burkecounty-ga.gov/

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>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.
<3>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.
<4>If we found a location and have questions about the accuracy of our information, we will simply say that the marker is 'in the vicinity'. We are not confident about the location and the position of our marker is only a rough guide. If we have too many doubts about the location, we will not include it in our database.
<5>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 from Point A (ie- Girard) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Girard. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.0445, Longitude: -81.7143    
<6>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.
<7>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 Girard, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025