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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 Preston (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 Preston. 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 southwest 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 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 west 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.

Preston is located in Webster County and is the County Seat.

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 Webster County: Chattahoochee, Marion, Randolph, Schley, Stewart, Sumter & Terrell.

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

  • Webster County     (The home county of Preston)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Preston, with the one closest to Preston listed first.
    • Weston
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Weston have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weston
      • Weston is located in Webster County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Weston <2>
    • Leveretts
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Leveretts. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leveretts
      • Leveretts is located in Webster County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Leveretts
      • From Preston to Leveretts
  • Chattahoochee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Preston, with the one closest to Preston listed first.
    • Ida Vesper
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ida Vesper. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ida Vesper
      • Ida Vesper is located in Chattahoochee County
      • Estimated population in 2019: 439 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Ida Vesper
      • From Preston to Ida Vesper
    • Cusseta
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Halloca ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Halloca have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halloca
      • Halloca is located in Chattahoochee County
    • Central Springs
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Heineburg Village ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Heineburg Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heineburg Village
      • Heineburg Village is located in Chattahoochee County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 2,893 people
    • Ochillee
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ochillee have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ochillee
      • Ochillee is located in Chattahoochee County
      • Estimated population in 2019: 680 people
  • Lee County
  • Macon County
    • Ideal
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ideal have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ideal
      • Ideal is located in Macon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 430 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ideal <2>
  • Marion County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Preston, with the one closest to Preston listed first.
    • Draneville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Draneville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Draneville
      • Draneville is located in Marion County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Draneville
      • From Preston to Draneville
    • Putnam
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Putnam have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Putnam
      • Putnam is located in Marion County
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 2,898 people
    • Buena Vista
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Glen Alta
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Glen Alta. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Alta
      • Glen Alta is located in Marion County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Glen Alta
      • From Preston to Glen Alta
    • Tazewell
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
  • Quitman County
    • Morris
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Morris have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morris
      • Morris is located in Quitman County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Morris <2>
  • Randolph County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Preston, with the one closest to Preston listed first.
    • Brooksville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brooksville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooksville
      • Brooksville is located in Randolph County
      • Estimated population in 2019: 559 people
    • Wades
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wades have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wades
      • Wades is located in Randolph County
      • Estimated population in 2019: 1,858 people
    • Shellman
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Five Points
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Five Points. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Points
      • Five Points is located in Randolph County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Five Points
      • From Preston to Five Points
    • Cuthbert
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Schley County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Preston, with the one closest to Preston listed first.
    • Ellaville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • La Crosse
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for La Crosse. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Crosse
      • La Crosse is located in Schley County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to La Crosse
      • From Preston to La Crosse
    • Concord
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Stewart County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Preston, with the one closest to Preston listed first.
    • Richland
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Richland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richland
      • Richland is located in Stewart County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,655 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Richland <2>
    • Mount Zion ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Mount Zion. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
      • Mount Zion is located in Stewart County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Mount Zion
      • From Preston to Mount Zion
    • Lumpkin
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Louvale
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Louvale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Louvale
      • Louvale is located in Stewart County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Louvale <2>
    • Sanford
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sanford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sanford
      • Sanford is located in Stewart County
      • Estimated population in 2019: 159 people
    • Omaha
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Florence
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Sumter County
  • Taylor County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Preston, with the one closest to Preston listed first.
    • Rupert
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rupert have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rupert
      • Rupert is located in Taylor County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rupert <2>
    • Mauk
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mauk have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mauk
      • Mauk is located in Taylor County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mauk <2>
  • Terrell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Preston, with the one closest to Preston listed first.
    • Parrott
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Parrott have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parrott
      • Parrott is located in Terrell County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 136 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Parrott <2>
    • Yeomans
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Yeomans have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yeomans
      • Yeomans is located in Terrell County
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 507 people
    • Olivers Mill
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Olivers Mill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olivers Mill
      • Olivers Mill is located in Terrell County
      • Estimated population in 2019: 230 people
    • Bronwood
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Dawson
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Herod
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Herod have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herod
      • Herod is located in Terrell County
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 3,384 people
    • Sasser
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sasser have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sasser
      • Sasser is located in Terrell County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 257 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sasser <2>
    • Clarks Mill
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clarks Mill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarks Mill
      • Clarks Mill is located in Terrell County
      • Estimated population in 2019: 12,637 people
  • Russell County (AL)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Preston, with the one closest to Preston listed first.
    • Holy Trinity
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holy Trinity have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holy Trinity
      • Holy Trinity is located in Russell County (AL)
    • Loflin
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Loflin. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loflin
      • Loflin is located in Russell County (AL)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Loflin
      • From Preston to Loflin
    • Oswichee
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Oswichee. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oswichee
      • Oswichee is located in Russell County (AL)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Oswichee
      • From Preston to Oswichee

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

Cemeteries Near Preston ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Preston.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Preston, with the one closest to Preston 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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Preston had a population of 270 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Gooseberry ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gooseberry have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gooseberry
    • Gooseberry is located in Webster County
  • Church Hill
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Church Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Church Hill
    • Church Hill is located in Marion County
  • Kimbrough
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kimbrough have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimbrough
    • Kimbrough is located in Webster County
  • Weston
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Weston have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weston
    • Weston is located in Webster County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Weston <2>
  • Leveretts
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Leveretts. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leveretts
    • Leveretts is located in Webster County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Leveretts
    • From Preston to Leveretts
  • Plains
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Friendship
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Friendship have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendship
    • Friendship is located in Sumter County
  • Richland
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Richland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richland
    • Richland is located in Stewart County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,655 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Richland <2>
  • Hoggs ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hoggs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoggs
    • Hoggs is located in Marion County
  • Draneville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Draneville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Draneville
    • Draneville is located in Marion County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Draneville
    • From Preston to Draneville
  • Randall
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Randall have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Randall
    • Randall is located in Stewart County
  • Parrott
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Parrott have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parrott
    • Parrott is located in Terrell County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 136 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Parrott <2>
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Cottondale
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cottondale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottondale
      • Cottondale is located in Terrell County
    • Brooklyn
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brooklyn have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklyn
      • Brooklyn is located in Stewart County
    • Pineville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pineville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pineville
      • Pineville is located in Marion County

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

Newspapers Published in Preston ...

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 62 newspapers that have been published in the area around Preston.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Preston, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Preston.

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 Preston:

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

The official website for State of Georgia: https://georgia.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Preston) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Preston. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 32.0659, Longitude: -84.5376    
<5>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.
<6>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 Preston, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025