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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 Merrillville (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 Merrillville. 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 and hospitals 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.

Merrillville is located in Thomas 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 Thomas County: Jefferson (FL), Leon (FL), Brooks, Colquitt, Grady & Mitchell.

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

  • Thomas County     (The home county of Merrillville)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Merrillville, with the one closest to Merrillville listed first.
    • Coolidge
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Fredonia
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Fredonia is located in Thomas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredonia
    • Pavo
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Newark
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Newark is located in Thomas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newark
      • Estimated population in 2019: 783 people
    • Thomasville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Dewey City
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Dewey City is located in Thomas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dewey City
    • Ochlocknee
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Boston
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Hansell
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Hansell is located in Thomas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hansell
      • Estimated population in 2019: 6,534 people
    • Meigs
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Brooks County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Merrillville, with the one closest to Merrillville listed first.
    • Barwick
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Tallokas ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Tallokas is located in Brooks County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tallokas
      • Estimated population in 2019: 171 people
    • Dixie
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Fodie
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Fodie is located in Brooks County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fodie
      • Estimated population in 2019: 5,037 people
    • Barney
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Morven
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Quitman
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Empress
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Empress is located in Brooks County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Empress
  • Colquitt County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Merrillville, with the one closest to Merrillville listed first.
    • Moultrie
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Riverside
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Riverside is located in Colquitt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
    • Funston
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Berlin
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Hartsfield
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Ellenton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Norman Park
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Doerun
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Minnesota
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Minnesota is located in Colquitt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minnesota
  • Cook County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Merrillville, with the one closest to Merrillville listed first.
    • Cecil
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Adel
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Sparks
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Grady County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Merrillville, with the one closest to Merrillville listed first.
    • Woodland
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Woodland is located in Grady County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland
      • Estimated population in 2019: 353 people
    • Spence
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Spence is located in Grady County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spence
    • Midway
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Midway is located in Grady County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
    • Cairo
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Good Hope ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Good Hope is located in Grady County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Good Hope
      • Estimated population in 2019: 300 people
    • Whigham
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Reno
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Reno is located in Grady County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reno
      • Estimated population in 2019: 285 people
  • Lowndes County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Merrillville, with the one closest to Merrillville listed first.
    • Shiloh
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Shiloh is located in Lowndes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh
    • Hahira
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Mitchell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Merrillville, with the one closest to Merrillville listed first.
    • Cotton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Pelham
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Sale City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Pebble City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Pebble City is located in Mitchell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pebble City
    • Camilla
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Greenough
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Greenough is located in Mitchell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenough
      • Estimated population in 2019: 3,304 people
    • Flint
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Flint is located in Mitchell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint
  • Worth County
    • Anderson City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Anderson City is located in Worth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson City
  • Jefferson County (FL)
    • Monticello
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
  • Leon County (FL)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Merrillville, with the one closest to Merrillville listed first.
    • Iamonia
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Iamonia is located in Leon County (FL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iamonia
    • Miccosukee
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)

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

Cemeteries Near Merrillville ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Merrillville.

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

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

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

  • St. Georges Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Big Creek Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • St. Paul Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Centennial Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Wilson Cemetery #1
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Dillon Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Kennedy Chapel Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Lasseter Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Gandy Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Springhill Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Peacock Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Aucilla Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (271 more) ...
    • Mt. Calvary Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Martin Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Antioch Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)

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 Merrillville in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Merrillville.

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

  • Patten
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Patten is located in Thomas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patten
  • Chastain
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Chastain is located in Thomas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chastain
  • Thomasville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Ochlocknee
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Boston
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Meigs
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Dixie
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Moultrie
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
  • Bay
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Bay is located in Colquitt County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay
  • Berlin
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Metcalf
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Metcalf is located in Thomas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Metcalf
  • Hartsfield
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (12 more) ...
    • Aucilla ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Aucilla is located in Thomas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aucilla
    • Pelham
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Quitman
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Merrillville ...

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 Merrillville.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Merrillville, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Merrillville.

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 websites either 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 Merrillville:

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