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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 Providence (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 Providence. 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.

Providence is located in Grady 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 Grady County: Gadsden (FL), Leon (FL), Decatur, Mitchell & Thomas.

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

  • Grady County     (The home county of Providence)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Providence, with the one closest to Providence listed first.
    • Whigham
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Cairo
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Midway
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Midway is located in Grady County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
    • Good Hope ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Good Hope is located in Grady County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Good Hope
      • Estimated population in 2019: 300 people
    • Reno
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Reno is located in Grady County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reno
      • Estimated population in 2019: 285 people
    • Woodland
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Woodland is located in Grady County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland
      • Estimated population in 2019: 353 people
    • Calvary
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Spence
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Spence is located in Grady County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spence
  • Baker County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Providence, with the one closest to Providence listed first.
    • Lamar ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Lamar is located in Baker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamar
    • Hawkinstown
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Hawkinstown is located in Baker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawkinstown
      • Estimated population in 2019: 5,270 people
    • Mimsville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Mimsville is located in Baker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mimsville
  • Colquitt County
  • Decatur County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Providence, with the one closest to Providence listed first.
    • Climax
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Attapulgus
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Fowlstown
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Vada
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Vada is located in Decatur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vada
      • Estimated population in 2019: 56,457 people
    • Bainbridge
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Faceville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Faceville is located in Decatur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Faceville
    • Brinson
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Recovery
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Recovery is located in Decatur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Recovery
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 33,015 people
  • Miller County
    • Boykin
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Boykin is located in Miller County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boykin
  • Mitchell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Providence, with the one closest to Providence listed first.
    • Pelham
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Greenwood ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Greenwood is located in Mitchell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
    • Cotton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Camilla
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Pebble City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Pebble City is located in Mitchell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pebble City
  • Seminole County
    • Reynoldsville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Reynoldsville is located in Seminole County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reynoldsville
      • Estimated population in 2019: 960 people
  • Thomas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Providence, with the one closest to Providence listed first.
    • Ochlocknee
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Dewey City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Dewey City is located in Thomas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dewey City
    • Hansell
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Hansell is located in Thomas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hansell
      • Estimated population in 2019: 6,534 people
    • Thomasville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Meigs
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Fredonia
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Fredonia is located in Thomas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredonia
    • Newark
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Newark is located in Thomas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newark
      • Estimated population in 2019: 783 people
    • Coolidge
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Boston
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  • Gadsden County (FL)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Providence, with the one closest to Providence listed first.
    • Havana
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Havana is located in Gadsden County (FL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Havana
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,695 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Havana <1>
    • Quincy
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Quincy is located in Gadsden County (FL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quincy
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,804 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Quincy <1>
    • Midway
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Midway is located in Gadsden County (FL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,956 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Midway <1>
    • Douglas City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Douglas City is located in Gadsden County (FL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douglas City
    • Gretna
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Gretna is located in Gadsden County (FL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gretna
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,430 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gretna <1>
    • Mount Pleasant
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Jefferson County (FL)
    • Lloyd
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Leon County (FL)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Providence, with the one closest to Providence listed first.
    • Ocklockonee ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Ocklockonee is located in Leon County (FL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocklockonee
    • Iamonia
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Iamonia is located in Leon County (FL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iamonia
    • Bradfordville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Bradfordville is located in Leon County (FL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradfordville
    • Miccosukee
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Tallahassee
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Capitola
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Capitola is located in Leon County (FL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Capitola

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

Cemeteries Near Providence ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Providence.

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

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

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

  • Providence Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Walden Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • El Bethel Baptist Church Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Sasser Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Griffin Memorial Gardens
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Woodlawn Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Whigham Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Tired Creek Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Hawthorne Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Godwin Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Paulk Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Sweetwater Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (267 more) ...
    • Magnolia Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Butler Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Trinity Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)

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.<2>

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

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

  • Climax
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Attapulgus
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Ocklockonee ‑ Historic
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Ocklockonee is located in Leon County (FL)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocklockonee
  • Concord
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Concord is located in Gadsden County (FL)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
  • Fowlstown
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
  • Iamonia
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Iamonia is located in Leon County (FL)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iamonia
  • Ochlocknee
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Bainbridge
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
  • Thomasville
    (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
  • Meigs
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
  • Pelham
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Scotland
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Scotland is located in Gadsden County (FL)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotland
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Bradfordville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Bradfordville is located in Leon County (FL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradfordville
    • Metcalf
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Metcalf is located in Thomas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Metcalf
    • Faceville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Faceville is located in Decatur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Faceville

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

Newspapers Published in Providence ...

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 Providence.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Providence, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Providence.

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 Providence:

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>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 Providence, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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- Providence) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.