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 Harpers Ferry (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 Harpers Ferry. 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 Harpers Ferry ...
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 occur.
- A typical abbreviation for Harpers Ferry: Harpers Fry. (or less commonly used: Harpers Frry.)
- While the name of this community is Harpers Ferry, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Harpers Ferry may originally have been Harper's Ferry.
Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Harpers Ferry might be written as Harper Ferry.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Harpers Ferry. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Harpers Ferry.
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 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.
Harpers Ferry is located in Madison 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 Madison County: Banks, Clarke, Elbert, Franklin, Hart, Jackson & Oglethorpe.
Below are the counties that are near Harpers Ferry. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Harpers Ferry:
- Madison County (The home county of Harpers Ferry)
- The following are listed by their distance from Harpers Ferry, with the one closest to Harpers Ferry listed first.
- Carlton
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Comer
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Dalton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Dalton is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dalton
- Estimated population in 2019: 33,665 people
- Harrison
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Harrison is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrison
- Estimated population in 2019: 442 people
- Madison Springs
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Madison Springs is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madison Springs
- Estimated population in 2019: 4,210 people
- Former name for Madison Springs:
- Alexanderville
- Colbert
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Danielsville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Patterson
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Patterson is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patterson
- Estimated population in 2019: 755 people
- Shiloh
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Shiloh is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh
- Hull
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Ila
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Planter
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Planter is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Planter
- Clarke County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harpers Ferry, with the one closest to Harpers Ferry listed first.
- Winterville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Cedar Shoals Estates
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Cedar Shoals Estates is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Shoals Estates
- Population from the 2010 Census: 74 people
- Lexington Heights
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Lexington Heights is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lexington Heights
- Estimated population in 2019: 228 people
- Athens
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Chamberlin
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Chamberlin is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chamberlin
- Estimated population in 2019: 30,307 people
- Riverside
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Riverside is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
- Estimated population in 2016: 35 people
- Jefferson Valley
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Jefferson Valley is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson Valley
- Estimated population in 2019: 939 people
- Pine Lake
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Pine Lake is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Lake
- Estimated population in 2019: 754 people
- Cleveland Station
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Cleveland Station is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleveland Station
- Estimated population in 2019: 4,165 people
- Elbert County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harpers Ferry, with the one closest to Harpers Ferry listed first.
- Dewy Rose
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Bowman
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Harper
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Harper is located in Elbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harper
- Goss
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Goss is located in Elbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goss
- Elberton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Silk Mills
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Silk Mills is located in Elbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silk Mills
- Estimated population in 2019: 277 people
- Centerville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Centerville is located in Elbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
- Harmony
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Harmony is located in Elbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harmony
- Bowman Ferry
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Bowman Ferry is located in Elbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowman Ferry
- Estimated population in 2019: 808 people
- Edinburg ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Edinburg is located in Elbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edinburg
- Estimated population in 2019: 1,396 people
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harpers Ferry, with the one closest to Harpers Ferry listed first.
- Royston
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Franklin Springs
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Canon
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Cromers
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Cromers is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cromers
- Population from the 2010 Census: 639 people
- Aquilla ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Aquilla is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aquilla
- Carnesville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Lavonia
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Parhams
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Parhams is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parhams
- Plainview
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Plainview is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainview
- Gumlog
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Gumlog is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gumlog
- Greene County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harpers Ferry, with the one closest to Harpers Ferry listed first.
- Scull Shoals ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Scull Shoals is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scull Shoals
- Durham Town
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Durham Town is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Durham Town
- Woodville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Woodville is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 397 people
- Daniel Springs
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Daniel Springs is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daniel Springs
- Estimated population in 2019: 594 people
- Hart County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harpers Ferry, with the one closest to Harpers Ferry listed first.
- Flat Shoals
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Flat Shoals is located in Hart County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Shoals
- Hartwell
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Bowersville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Dooleys Ferry
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Dooleys Ferry is located in Hart County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dooleys Ferry
- Estimated population in 2019: 136 people
- Maretts
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Maretts is located in Hart County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maretts
- Cooleys Ferry
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Cooleys Ferry is located in Hart County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooleys Ferry
- Estimated population in 2019: 529 people
- Reed Creek
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Reed Creek is located in Hart County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reed Creek
- Crawfords Ferry
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Crawfords Ferry is located in Hart County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crawfords Ferry
- Estimated population in 2019: 473 people
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harpers Ferry, with the one closest to Harpers Ferry listed first.
- Nicholson
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Commerce
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Attica
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Attica is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Attica
- Talasee ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Talasee is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talasee
- Estimated population in 2019: 848 people
- Arcade
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Arcade is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcade
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,040 people
- Lincoln County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harpers Ferry, with the one closest to Harpers Ferry listed first.
- Lisbon ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Lisbon is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lisbon
- Hesters Ferry
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Hesters Ferry is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hesters Ferry
- Estimated population in 2019: 911 people
- Midway
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Midway is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
- Oconee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harpers Ferry, with the one closest to Harpers Ferry listed first.
- Spartan Lane
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Spartan Lane is located in Oconee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spartan Lane
- Estimated population in 2019: 1,230 people
- Watkinsville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Marshall Estates
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Marshall Estates is located in Oconee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshall Estates
- Estimated population in 2019: 1,227 people
- Overlook Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Overlook Village is located in Oconee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Overlook Village
- Cumberland
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Cumberland is located in Oconee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland
- Estimated population in 2019: 6,547 people
- Bishop
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Bogart
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Osceola Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Osceola Village is located in Oconee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osceola Village
- Oglethorpe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harpers Ferry, with the one closest to Harpers Ferry listed first.
- Veribest
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Veribest is located in Oglethorpe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Veribest
- Estimated population in 2019: 124 people
- Palmetto
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Palmetto is located in Oglethorpe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmetto
- Lexington
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Arnoldsville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Crawford
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Cherokee Corner ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Cherokee Corner is located in Oglethorpe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherokee Corner
- Stephens
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Maxeys
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Stephens County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harpers Ferry, with the one closest to Harpers Ferry listed first.
- Martin
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Avalon
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Avalon is located in Stephens County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avalon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 226 people
- Taliaferro County
- Carters Grove
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Carters Grove is located in Taliaferro County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carters Grove
- Estimated population in 2019: 21,760 people
- Wilkes County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harpers Ferry, with the one closest to Harpers Ferry listed first.
- Centerville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Centerville is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
- Rayle
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- New Town
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- New Town is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Town
- Tignall
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Washington
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Tyrone
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Tyrone is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyrone
- Abbeville County (SC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Harpers Ferry, with the one closest to Harpers Ferry listed first.
- Lowndesville
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Calhoun Falls
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Latimer
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Latimer is located in Abbeville County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Latimer
- Monterey ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Monterey is located in Abbeville County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monterey
- Lake Secession
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Lake Secession is located in Abbeville County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Secession
- Anderson County (SC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Harpers Ferry, with the one closest to Harpers Ferry listed first.
- Holland Store
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Holland Store is located in Anderson County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holland Store
- Holland Store has also been known as:
- Hollands
- Iva
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Iva is located in Anderson County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iva
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,341 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Iva <2>
- Andersonville ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Andersonville is located in Anderson County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Andersonville
- Starr
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Price ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Price is located in Anderson County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Price
- Deans
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Deans is located in Anderson County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deans
- McCormick County (SC)
- Mount Carmel
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Oconee County (SC)
- Fair Play
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Harpers Ferry, see our County-by-County Page for Harpers Ferry.
Cemeteries Near Harpers Ferry ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Harpers Ferry.
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 Harpers Ferry - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Harpers Ferry covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Harpers Ferry, with the one closest to Harpers Ferry listed first.
- Powers Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Moore - Booth Family Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moore - Booth Family Cemetery
- The Moore - Booth Family Cemetery has also been known as:
- Jack Moore Family Cemetery
- Moore Family Cemetery
- Antioch Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Carlton City Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Vineyards Creek Baptist Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- David Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Burroughs Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Old Fork Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Hall Grove Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Cooper Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Cooper Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Dove Creek Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Continue List (412 more) ...
- Stinchcomb Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Deep Creek Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Fork Creek Baptist Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
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>
While we didn't find Harpers Ferry in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Harpers Ferry.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Harpers Ferry, with the one closest to Harpers Ferry listed first.
- Nickville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Nickville is located in Elbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nickville
- Carlton
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Oglesby
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Oglesby is located in Elbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oglesby
- Paoli
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Paoli is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paoli
- Comer
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Point Peter
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Point Peter is located in Oglethorpe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Point Peter
- Dewy Rose
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Bowman
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Goss
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Goss is located in Elbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goss
- Elberton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Sandy Cross
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Sandy Cross is located in Oglethorpe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Cross
- Vesta
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Vesta is located in Oglethorpe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vesta
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Amandaville ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Amandaville is located in Hart County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amandaville
- Madison Springs
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Madison Springs is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madison Springs
- Estimated population in 2019: 4,210 people
- Former name for Madison Springs:
- Alexanderville
- Danielsville
(11 miles [17.7 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 Harpers Ferry. See our List of 1890's Communities around Harpers Ferry.
Newspapers Published in Harpers Ferry ...
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 Harpers Ferry.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Harpers Ferry, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Harpers Ferry.
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 helpful 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 Harpers Ferry:
- Websites specific to Georgia
- Pages specific to Madison County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Clarke County
- Elbert County
- Franklin County
- Greene County
- Hart County
- Jackson County
- Lincoln County
- Oconee County
- Oglethorpe County
- Stephens County
- Taliaferro County
- Wilkes County
- Abbeville County
- Anderson County
- McCormick County
- Oconee County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Georgia
Footnotes ...
| <1> | It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties). |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <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 Harpers Ferry, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <5> | 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- Harpers Ferry) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |