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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 Ila (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 Ila. 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 doctors 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.

Ila 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 Ila. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Ila:

  • Madison County     (The home county of Ila)
  • Banks County
  • Barrow County
  • Clarke County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ila, with the one closest to Ila listed first.
    • Winterville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Jefferson Valley
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Jefferson Valley is located in Clarke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson Valley
      • Estimated population in 2019: 939 people
    • Athens
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Lexington Heights
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Lexington Heights is located in Clarke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lexington Heights
      • Estimated population in 2019: 228 people
    • Cedar Shoals Estates
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Cedar Shoals Estates is located in Clarke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Shoals Estates
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 74 people
    • Riverside
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Riverside is located in Clarke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
      • Estimated population in 2016: 35 people
    • Chamberlin
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Chamberlin is located in Clarke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chamberlin
      • Estimated population in 2019: 30,307 people
    • Cleveland Station
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Cleveland Station is located in Clarke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleveland Station
      • Estimated population in 2019: 4,165 people
    • Pine Lake
      (19 miles [30.6 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
  • Elbert County
  • Franklin County
  • Greene County
  • Habersham County
  • Hall County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ila, with the one closest to Ila listed first.
    • Gillsville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jarrett
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Jarrett is located in Hall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jarrett
    • Sugar Hill
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Lula
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Klondike
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Klondike is located in Hall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Klondike
    • White Sulphur Springs
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Candler
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Candler is located in Hall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Candler
    • Surf Side Club Estates
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Surf Side Club Estates is located in Hall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Surf Side Club Estates
      • Estimated population in 2019: 202 people
    • Rainbow Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Rainbow Village is located in Hall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rainbow Village
    • Gainesville Mills
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Gainesville Mills is located in Hall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gainesville Mills
      • Estimated population in 2019: 43,232 people
    • New Holland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Hart County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ila, with the one closest to Ila listed first.
    • Bowersville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Flat Shoals
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Hartwell
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Maretts
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Reed Creek
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Reed Creek is located in Hart County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reed Creek
    • Dooleys Ferry
      (29 miles [46.7 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
    • Cooleys Ferry
      (30 miles [48.3 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
  • Jackson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ila, with the one closest to Ila listed first.
    • Nicholson
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Commerce
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Arcade
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Arcade is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcade
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,040 people
    • Attica
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Talasee ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Talasee is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talasee
      • Estimated population in 2019: 848 people
    • Dry Pond
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Dry Pond is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Pond
      • Estimated population in 2019: 15,881 people
    • Jefferson
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Holly Springs
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Pendergrass
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Talmo
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Braselton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Hoschton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
  • Oconee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ila, with the one closest to Ila listed first.
    • Overlook Village
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Overlook Village is located in Oconee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Overlook Village
    • Spartan Lane
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Spartan Lane is located in Oconee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spartan Lane
      • Estimated population in 2019: 1,230 people
    • Bogart
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Osceola Village
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Osceola Village is located in Oconee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osceola Village
    • Watkinsville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Marshall Estates
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Marshall Estates is located in Oconee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshall Estates
      • Estimated population in 2019: 1,227 people
    • Eastville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Cumberland
      (24 miles [38.6 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
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • North High Shoals
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • North High Shoals is located in Oconee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North High Shoals
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 736 people
    • High Shoals
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Farmington
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
  • Oglethorpe County
  • Stephens County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ila, with the one closest to Ila listed first.
    • Martin
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Avalon
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Avalon is located in Stephens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avalon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 226 people
    • Eastanollee
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Carnes Creek
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Carnes Creek is located in Stephens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carnes Creek
      • Estimated population in 2019: 601 people
    • Toccoa
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Toccoa Falls
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Jarrett
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Jarrett is located in Stephens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jarrett
      • Estimated population in 2019: 3,974 people
  • Walton County
  • Oconee County (SC)

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

Cemeteries Near Ila ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ila.

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

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

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

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 in 1895, Ila had a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Ila had a population of 359 people.

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

  • Hix
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Hix is located in Madison County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hix
  • Planter
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Fort Lamar
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Fort Lamar is located in Madison County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Lamar
  • Danielsville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Erastus
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Erastus is located in Banks County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erastus
  • Madison Springs
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • 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
  • Cromers
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Cromers is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cromers
    • Population from the 2010 Census: 639 people
  • Nicholson
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Dowdy ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Dowdy is located in Madison County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dowdy
  • Center
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Center is located in Jackson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center
  • Ashland
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Ashland is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
  • Arp
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Arp is located in Banks County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arp
  • Continue List   (18 more) ...
    • Walnut Hill ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Walnut Hill is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Hill
    • Comer
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Paoli
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Paoli is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paoli

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

Newspapers Published in Ila ...

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 88 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ila.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ila, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Ila.

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 Ila:

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 Ila, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Ila) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.