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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 Lester (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 Lester. 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 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.

Lester is located in Mitchell 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 Mitchell County: Baker, Colquitt, Decatur, Dougherty, Grady, Thomas & Worth.

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

  • Mitchell County     (The home county of Lester)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lester, with the one closest to Lester listed first.
    • Greenough
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Greenough is located in Mitchell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenough
      • Estimated population in 2019: 3,304 people
    • De Witt
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • De Witt is located in Mitchell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Witt
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 154 people
    • Baconton
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Sale City
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Pebble City
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Pebble City is located in Mitchell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pebble City
    • Flint
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Flint is located in Mitchell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint
    • Camilla
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Cotton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Pelham
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Greenwood ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Greenwood is located in Mitchell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
  • Baker County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lester, with the one closest to Lester listed first.
    • Newton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Hawkinstown
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Hawkinstown is located in Baker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawkinstown
      • Estimated population in 2019: 5,270 people
    • Milford
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Milford is located in Baker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milford
    • Mimsville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Mimsville is located in Baker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mimsville
    • Lamar ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Lamar is located in Baker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamar
    • Anna
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Anna is located in Baker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anna
  • Calhoun County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lester, with the one closest to Lester listed first.
    • Holt
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Holt is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holt
    • Leary
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
  • Colquitt County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lester, with the one closest to Lester listed first.
    • Doerun
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Minnesota
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Minnesota is located in Colquitt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minnesota
    • Hartsfield
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Funston
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Riverside
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Riverside is located in Colquitt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
    • Moultrie
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Norman Park
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Ellenton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Decatur County
    • Vada
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Vada is located in Decatur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vada
      • Estimated population in 2019: 56,457 people
  • Dougherty County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lester, with the one closest to Lester listed first.
    • Putney
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Pecan City
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Pecan City is located in Dougherty County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pecan City
    • Eleanor Village
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Eleanor Village is located in Dougherty County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eleanor Village
    • Tompkins Village
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Tompkins Village is located in Dougherty County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tompkins Village
    • Colonial Place
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Colonial Place is located in Dougherty County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colonial Place
    • Colonial Village
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Colonial Village is located in Dougherty County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colonial Village
    • East Towne
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • East Towne is located in Dougherty County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Towne
    • Elon Village
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Elon Village is located in Dougherty County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elon Village
    • Turner City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Turner City is located in Dougherty County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turner City
    • Albany
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Albany is located in Dougherty County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albany
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 70,839 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Albany <1>
    • Eugemar
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Eugemar is located in Dougherty County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eugemar
      • Estimated population in 2019: 4,367 people
    • Hinds
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Hinds is located in Dougherty County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hinds
      • Estimated population in 2019: 33,273 people
    • West Town
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • West Town is located in Dougherty County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Town
  • Grady County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lester, with the one closest to Lester listed first.
    • Spence
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Spence is located in Grady County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spence
    • Woodland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Woodland is located in Grady County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland
      • Estimated population in 2019: 353 people
  • Lee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lester, with the one closest to Lester listed first.
    • Palmyra
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Palmyra is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmyra
    • Leesburg
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Philema
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Philema is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Philema
  • Terrell County
    • Sasser
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Thomas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lester, with the one closest to Lester listed first.
    • Meigs
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Hansell
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Hansell is located in Thomas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hansell
      • Estimated population in 2019: 6,534 people
    • Coolidge
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Ochlocknee
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
  • Tift County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lester, with the one closest to Lester listed first.
    • Ty Ty
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Omega
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
  • Turner County
    • Hobby
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Hobby is located in Turner County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hobby
      • Estimated population in 2019: 536 people
  • Worth County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lester, with the one closest to Lester listed first.
    • Bridgeboro
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Liberty Hill
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Liberty Hill is located in Worth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Hill
    • Alfords
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Alfords is located in Worth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alfords
    • Anderson City
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Anderson City is located in Worth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson City
    • East Dougherty
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • East Dougherty is located in Worth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Dougherty
      • Estimated population in 2019: 2,398 people
    • Sylvester
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Poulan
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Sumner
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Oakfield
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Cuffietown
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Cuffietown is located in Worth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuffietown
      • Estimated population in 2019: 186 people

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

Cemeteries Near Lester ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Lester.

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

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

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

  • Rocky Mount Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Shady Grove Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Sale City Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Smith Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Liberty Hill Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Antioch Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Doerun City Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Chapel Hill Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Parkerville Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Blue Springs Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Davis Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Creek Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (166 more) ...
    • China Grove Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Akridge Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Duncan Smith Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)

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>

While we didn't find Lester in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Lester.

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

  • De Witt
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • De Witt is located in Mitchell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Witt
    • Population from the 2010 Census: 154 people
  • Baconton
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Flint
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Flint is located in Mitchell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint
  • Parkerville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Parkerville is located in Worth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkerville
  • Hartsfield
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Camilla
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Minton
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Minton is located in Worth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minton
  • Acree
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Acree is located in Dougherty County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acree
  • Bay
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Bay is located in Colquitt County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay
  • Willingham ‑ Historic
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Willingham is located in Worth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willingham
  • Albany
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Albany is located in Dougherty County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albany
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 70,839 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Albany <1>
  • Sylvester
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Newton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Pelham
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Isabella
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Isabella is located in Worth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isabella

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

Newspapers Published in Lester ...

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 Lester.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Lester, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Lester.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with 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 Lester:

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 Lester, 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- Lester) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.