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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 Helena (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 Helena. 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 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.

Helena is primarily located in Telfair County. A portion of Helena extends into Wheeler 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 Telfair County: Ben Hill, Coffee, Dodge, Jeff Davis, Wheeler & Wilcox.

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

  • Telfair County     (The home county of Helena)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Helena, with the one closest to Helena listed first.
    • McRae - Helena
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • McRae
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Scotland
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scotland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotland
      • Scotland is located in Telfair County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 334 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Scotland <1>
    • Milan
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Milan have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milan
      • Milan is located in Telfair County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 649 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Milan <1>
    • Lumber City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lumber City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lumber City
      • Lumber City is located in Telfair County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,251 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lumber City <1>
    • Jacksonville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
  • Appling County
    • Graham
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Graham have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graham
      • Graham is located in Appling County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 289 people
  • Coffee County
  • Dodge County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Helena, with the one closest to Helena listed first.
    • Chauncey
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Eastman
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Rhine
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rhine have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rhine
      • Rhine is located in Dodge County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 364 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rhine <1>
    • Plainfield
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plainfield have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainfield
      • Plainfield is located in Dodge County
      • Estimated population in 2019: 716 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Plainfield <1>
    • Bryant
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Chester
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Yonkers
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Empire
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Jeff Davis County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Helena, with the one closest to Helena listed first.
    • Lumber City Ferry
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lumber City Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lumber City Ferry
      • Lumber City Ferry is located in Jeff Davis County
      • Estimated population in 2019: 1,257 people
    • Kirkland
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Kirkland. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirkland
      • Kirkland is located in Jeff Davis County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Kirkland
      • From Helena to Kirkland
    • Tallahassee
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tallahassee have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tallahassee
      • Tallahassee is located in Jeff Davis County
      • Estimated population in 2019: 3,185 people
    • Hazlehurst
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Denton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Quinn ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Quinn have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quinn
      • Quinn is located in Jeff Davis County
      • Estimated population in 2019: 3,652 people
  • Laurens County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Helena, with the one closest to Helena listed first.
    • Cedar Grove
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Cadwell
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Rentz
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rentz have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rentz
      • Rentz is located in Laurens County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 286 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rentz <1>
    • Dexter
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Rockledge
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rockledge have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockledge
      • Rockledge is located in Laurens County
      • Estimated population in 2019: 4,433 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rockledge <1>
  • Montgomery County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Helena, with the one closest to Helena listed first.
    • Mount Vernon
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Ailey
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Uvalda
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Alston
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Petross
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Petross. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petross
      • Petross is located in Montgomery County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Petross
      • From Helena to Petross
    • Tarrytown
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tarrytown have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tarrytown
      • Tarrytown is located in Montgomery County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 82 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tarrytown <1>
    • Higgston
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Higgston have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Higgston
      • Higgston is located in Montgomery County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 305 people
  • Toombs County
  • Treutlen County
  • Wheeler County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Helena, with the one closest to Helena listed first.
    • Alamo
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Glenwood
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Ochwalkee
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ochwalkee have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ochwalkee
      • Ochwalkee is located in Wheeler County
      • Estimated population in 2019: 3,732 people
  • Wilcox County

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

Cemeteries Near Helena ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Helena.

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

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

  • Helena Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Helena Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Helena Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Oak Grove Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oak Grove Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oak Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Telfair Memorial Gardens
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Telfair Memorial Gardens
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Telfair Memorial Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Floyd Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Floyd Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Floyd Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • McDuffie Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the McDuffie Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the McDuffie Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Williams Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Williams Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Williams Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Harrelson Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Harrelson Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Harrelson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Erick Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Erick Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Erick Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Grimes Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Grimes Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Grimes Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Turnpike Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Turnpike Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Turnpike Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hinson Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hinson Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hinson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Stuart Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Stuart Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Stuart Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (303 more) ...
    • McMillan Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the McMillan Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the McMillan Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Browning Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Browning Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Browning Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Browning Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Browning Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Browning Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Helena had a post office and railroad service.

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

  • McRae - Helena
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • McRae
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Scotland
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scotland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotland
    • Scotland is located in Telfair County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 334 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Scotland <1>
  • Cox ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cox have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cox
    • Cox is located in Dodge County
  • Milan
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Milan have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milan
    • Milan is located in Telfair County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 649 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Milan <1>
  • Chauncey
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Towns
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Towns have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Towns
    • Towns is located in Telfair County
  • Cobbville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cobbville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobbville
    • Cobbville is located in Telfair County
  • Westbrook ‑ Historic
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Westbrook have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westbrook
    • Westbrook is located in Laurens County
  • Godwinsville
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Godwinsville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Godwinsville
    • Godwinsville is located in Dodge County
  • Walkee ‑ Historic
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Walkee have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walkee
    • Walkee is located in Laurens County
  • Amoskeag ‑ Historic
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Amoskeag have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amoskeag
    • Amoskeag is located in Dodge County
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Lumber City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lumber City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lumber City
      • Lumber City is located in Telfair County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,251 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lumber City <1>
    • Rhine
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rhine have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rhine
      • Rhine is located in Dodge County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 364 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rhine <1>
    • Hatoff ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hatoff have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatoff
      • Hatoff is located in Laurens County

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

Newspapers Published in Helena ...

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 30 newspapers that have been published in the area around Helena.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Helena, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Helena.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Helena:

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

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>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.
<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 Helena, 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' (or 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- Helena) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Helena. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 32.0739, Longitude: -82.9142    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025