RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Georgia >> Wayne County >> Ritch >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Ritch (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 Ritch. 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 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.

Ritch is located in Wayne 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 Wayne County: Appling, Brantley, Glynn, Long, McIntosh, Pierce & Tattnall.

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

  • Wayne County     (The home county of Ritch)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ritch, with the one closest to Ritch listed first.
    • Screven
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Odum
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Jesup
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Madray Springs
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Madray Springs is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madray Springs
    • Doctortown
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Doctortown is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doctortown
    • Pendarvis
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Pendarvis is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pendarvis
      • Estimated population in 2019: 562 people
  • Appling County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ritch, with the one closest to Ritch listed first.
    • Surrency
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Baxley
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Phillipi
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Phillipi is located in Appling County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phillipi
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 707 people
    • Graham
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Graham is located in Appling County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graham
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 289 people
  • Bacon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ritch, with the one closest to Ritch listed first.
    • Coffee
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Coffee is located in Bacon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coffee
    • Alma
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Alma is located in Bacon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alma
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,336 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alma <1>
    • Guysie
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Guysie is located in Bacon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guysie
      • Estimated population in 2019: 2,226 people
  • Brantley County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ritch, with the one closest to Ritch listed first.
    • Hortense
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Raybon
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Raybon is located in Brantley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raybon
      • Estimated population in 2019: 1,094 people
    • Hoboken
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Nahunta
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Popwellville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Popwellville is located in Brantley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Popwellville
      • Estimated population in 2019: 692 people
    • Waynesville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Glynn County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ritch, with the one closest to Ritch listed first.
    • Thalmann
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Thalmann is located in Glynn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thalmann
    • Altamaha Park
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Altamaha Park is located in Glynn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altamaha Park
  • Long County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ritch, with the one closest to Ritch listed first.
    • Donald
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Donald is located in Long County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donald
      • Estimated population in 2019: 2,466 people
    • Ludowici
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
  • Pierce County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ritch, with the one closest to Ritch listed first.
    • Bristol
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Offerman
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Patterson
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Mershon
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Blackshear
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
  • Tattnall County
    • Glennville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • Ware County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ritch, with the one closest to Ritch listed first.
    • Jamestown
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Jamestown is located in Ware County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
    • Sunnyside
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Sunnyside is located in Ware County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunnyside
    • Waltertown
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Waltertown is located in Ware County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waltertown
      • Estimated population in 2019: 4,115 people
      • Waltertown has also been known as:
      • Watertown
    • Waycross
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Deenwood
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Deenwood is located in Ware County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deenwood
    • Winona Park
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Winona Park is located in Ware County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winona Park
    • Emerson Park
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Emerson Park is located in Ware County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerson Park
    • Waresboro
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Ritch ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ritch.

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

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

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

  • Smiths Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Old Ritch Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Thornton Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Griffis Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Clay Hill Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Foster Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Aspinwall Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Bennett Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bennett Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Bennett Cemetery is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<2> to the north of Screven.
  • Williamson Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Ashley Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Tyre Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Mill Creek Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (202 more) ...
    • New Home Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Screven Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Dixon Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Ritch had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Screven
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Offerman
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Odum
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Patterson
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Brentwood
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Brentwood is located in Wayne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brentwood
  • Surrency
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Jesup
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Hortense
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Doctortown
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Doctortown is located in Wayne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doctortown
  • Blackshear
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
  • Gardi
    (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Gardi is located in Wayne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gardi
  • Wheaton
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Wheaton is located in Appling County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheaton
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Baxley
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Beach
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Beach is located in Ware County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beach
    • Waltertown
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Waltertown is located in Ware County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waltertown
      • Estimated population in 2019: 4,115 people
      • Waltertown has also been known as:
      • Watertown

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

Newspapers Published in Ritch ...

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 58 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ritch.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ritch, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Ritch.

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 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 Ritch:

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Ritch) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Ritch, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.