RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Georgia >> Dodge County >> Godwinsville >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Godwinsville (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 Godwinsville. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals 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.

Godwinsville is located in Dodge 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 Dodge County: Bleckley, Laurens, Pulaski, Telfair, Wheeler & Wilcox.

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

  • Dodge County     (The home county of Godwinsville)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Godwinsville, with the one closest to Godwinsville listed first.
    • Chauncey
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Eastman
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Plainfield
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Rhine
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Bryant
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Bryant is located in Dodge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryant
    • Yonkers
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Yonkers is located in Dodge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yonkers
    • Chester
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Empire
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Empire is located in Dodge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Empire
  • Ben Hill County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Godwinsville, with the one closest to Godwinsville listed first.
    • Fitzgerald
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Abba
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Abba is located in Ben Hill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abba
  • Bleckley County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Godwinsville, with the one closest to Godwinsville listed first.
    • Cochran
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Royal
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Royal is located in Bleckley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal
      • Estimated population in 2019: 2,571 people
  • Irwin County
    • Arp
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Arp is located in Irwin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arp
  • Jeff Davis County
    • Lumber City Ferry
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Lumber City Ferry is located in Jeff Davis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lumber City Ferry
      • Estimated population in 2019: 1,257 people
  • Laurens County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Godwinsville, with the one closest to Godwinsville listed first.
    • Cadwell
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Cedar Grove
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Cedar Grove is located in Laurens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
    • Rentz
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Dexter
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Dudley
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Montrose
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Dublin
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Pulaski County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Godwinsville, with the one closest to Godwinsville listed first.
    • Finleyson
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Finleyson is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Finleyson
    • Hawkinsville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Telfair County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Godwinsville, with the one closest to Godwinsville listed first.
    • Milan
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Helena
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • McRae - Helena
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • McRae
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • McRae is located in Telfair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McRae
    • Scotland
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Jacksonville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Lumber City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Turner County
    • Rebecca
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Wheeler County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Godwinsville, with the one closest to Godwinsville listed first.
    • Alamo
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Alamo is located in Wheeler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alamo
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,301 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alamo <1>
    • Glenwood
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Ochwalkee
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Ochwalkee is located in Wheeler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ochwalkee
      • Estimated population in 2019: 3,732 people
  • Wilcox County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Godwinsville, with the one closest to Godwinsville listed first.
    • Abbeville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Pineview
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Rochelle
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Owensboro
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Owensboro is located in Wilcox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Owensboro
    • Pitts
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Seville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Godwinsville ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Godwinsville.

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

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

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

  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Ruth Prince Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Hamilton Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Parkerson Baptist Church Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Greenlawn Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • New Piney Grove Baptist Church Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Sanders Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Burney Cooper Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Taylor Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Bowen Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Antioch Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • McMillan Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (273 more) ...
    • Ryals Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Evans Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Orphans Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Godwinsville had a population of 79 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Amoskeag ‑ Historic
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Amoskeag is located in Dodge County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amoskeag
  • Chauncey
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Eastman
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Cox ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Cox is located in Dodge County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cox
  • Milan
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Rhine
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Westbrook ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Westbrook is located in Laurens County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westbrook
  • Beehive ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Beehive is located in Dodge County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beehive
  • Dempsey
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Dempsey is located in Dodge County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dempsey
  • Copeland
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Copeland is located in Dodge County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Copeland
  • Gresston
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Gresston is located in Dodge County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gresston
  • Helena
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Abbeville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • McRae - Helena
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • McRae
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • McRae is located in Telfair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McRae

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

Newspapers Published in Godwinsville ...

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 Godwinsville.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Godwinsville, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Godwinsville.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 Godwinsville:

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 Godwinsville, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Godwinsville) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.