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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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and 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.

Merrillville is located in Thomas 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 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)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredonia
      • Fredonia is located in Thomas County
    • Pavo
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Newark
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Newark have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newark
      • Newark is located in Thomas County
      • 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)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dewey City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dewey City
      • Dewey City is located in Thomas County
    • Ochlocknee
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ochlocknee have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ochlocknee
      • Ochlocknee is located in Thomas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 678 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ochlocknee <1>
    • Boston
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Hansell
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hansell have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hansell
      • Hansell is located in Thomas County
      • 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)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tallokas have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tallokas
      • Tallokas is located in Brooks County
      • Estimated population in 2019: 171 people
    • Dixie
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Fodie
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fodie
      • Fodie is located in Brooks County
      • 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)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Morven have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morven
      • Morven is located in Brooks County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 544 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Morven <1>
    • Quitman
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Empress
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Empress
      • Empress is located in Brooks County
  • 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)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Riverside have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
      • Riverside is located in Colquitt County
    • 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)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Norman Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norman Park
      • Norman Park is located in Colquitt County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 958 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Norman Park <1>
    • Doerun
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Minnesota
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Minnesota. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minnesota
      • Minnesota is located in Colquitt County
  • 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)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland
      • Woodland is located in Grady County
      • Estimated population in 2019: 353 people
    • Spence
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spence
      • Spence is located in Grady County
    • Midway
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
      • Midway is located in Grady County
    • Cairo
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Good Hope ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Good Hope have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Good Hope
      • Good Hope is located in Grady County
      • Estimated population in 2019: 300 people
    • Whigham
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Reno
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reno have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reno
      • Reno is located in Grady County
      • 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)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh
      • Shiloh is located in Lowndes County
    • 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)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sale City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sale City
      • Sale City is located in Mitchell County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 341 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sale City <1>
    • Pebble City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pebble City
      • Pebble City is located in Mitchell County
    • Camilla
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Greenough
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenough have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenough
      • Greenough is located in Mitchell County
      • Estimated population in 2019: 3,304 people
    • Flint
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint
      • Flint is located in Mitchell County
  • Worth County
    • Anderson City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Anderson City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson City
      • Anderson City is located in Worth County
  • 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)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Iamonia have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iamonia
      • Iamonia is located in Leon County (FL)
    • 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.

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 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)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Georges Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Georges Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Big Creek Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Big Creek Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Big Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Paul Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Paul Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Paul Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Centennial Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Centennial Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Centennial Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Wilson Cemetery #1
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wilson Cemetery #1
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wilson Cemetery #1 have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Dillon Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dillon Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Dillon Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Kennedy Chapel Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Kennedy Chapel Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Kennedy Chapel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lasseter Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lasseter Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lasseter Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Gandy Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gandy Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gandy Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Springhill Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Springhill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Springhill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Peacock Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Peacock Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Peacock Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Aucilla Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (268 more) ...
    • Mt. Calvary Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Calvary Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Calvary Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Martin Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Martin Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Martin Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Antioch Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Antioch Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Antioch 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.<5>

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)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Patten have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patten
    • Patten is located in Thomas County
  • Chastain
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chastain have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chastain
    • Chastain is located in Thomas County
  • Thomasville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Ochlocknee
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ochlocknee have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ochlocknee
    • Ochlocknee is located in Thomas County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 678 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ochlocknee <1>
  • 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)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bay have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay
    • Bay is located in Colquitt County
  • Berlin
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Metcalf
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Metcalf have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Metcalf
    • Metcalf is located in Thomas County
  • Hartsfield
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (12 more) ...
    • Aucilla ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Aucilla have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aucilla
      • Aucilla is located in Thomas County
    • 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]<6>. 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 begin with 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:

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

The official website for Thomas County: www.thomascountyboc.org/

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>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.
<5>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.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Merrillville) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Merrillville. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 30.9491, Longitude: -83.8799       In this case, the coordinates for Merrillville have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025