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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 Rochelle (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 Rochelle. 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.

Rochelle is located in Wilcox 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 Wilcox County: Ben Hill, Crisp, Dodge, Dooly, Pulaski, Telfair & Turner.

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

  • Wilcox County     (The home county of Rochelle)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rochelle, with the one closest to Rochelle listed first.
    • Pitts
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Owensboro
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Owensboro is located in Wilcox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Owensboro
    • Seville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Abbeville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Pineview
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Ben Hill County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rochelle, with the one closest to Rochelle listed first.
    • Abba
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Abba is located in Ben Hill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abba
    • Fitzgerald
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Bleckley County
    • Cochran
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Crisp County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rochelle, with the one closest to Rochelle listed first.
    • McKenzie
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • McKenzie is located in Crisp County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McKenzie
    • Lamb Town
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Lamb Town is located in Crisp County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamb Town
    • Arabi
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Cordele
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Milldale ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Milldale is located in Crisp County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milldale
      • Estimated population in 2019: 18,704 people
  • Dodge County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rochelle, with the one closest to Rochelle listed first.
    • Rhine
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Eastman
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Chauncey
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Empire
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Empire is located in Dodge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Empire
    • Plainfield
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Dooly County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rochelle, with the one closest to Rochelle listed first.
    • Vienna
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Pinehurst
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Unadilla
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Lilly
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Houston County
  • Irwin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rochelle, with the one closest to Rochelle listed first.
    • Arp
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Arp is located in Irwin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arp
    • Irwinville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Mystic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Ocilla
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Pulaski County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rochelle, with the one closest to Rochelle listed first.
    • Finleyson
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Finleyson is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Finleyson
    • Hawkinsville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
  • Telfair County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rochelle, with the one closest to Rochelle listed first.
    • Milan
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Jacksonville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  • Tift County
  • Turner County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rochelle, with the one closest to Rochelle listed first.
    • Rebecca
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Ashburn
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Sycamore
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Hobby
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Hobby is located in Turner County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hobby
      • Estimated population in 2019: 536 people
  • Worth County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rochelle, with the one closest to Rochelle listed first.
    • Cuffietown
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Cuffietown is located in Worth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuffietown
      • Estimated population in 2019: 186 people
    • Warwick
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)

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

Cemeteries Near Rochelle ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rochelle.

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

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

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

  • Morningside Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Owens Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Walker Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Pine City Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Christian Home Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Hannah Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Fitzgerald Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Pleasant Grove Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Liberty Hill Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Pine City Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Pitts City Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (277 more) ...
    • New Bethel Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Christian Hill Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Snow Hill Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Rochelle had a population of 400 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Rochelle had a population of 1,081 people.

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

  • Pitts
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Seville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Abbeville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Sibbie
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Sibbie is located in Wilcox County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sibbie
  • Copeland
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Copeland is located in Dodge County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Copeland
  • Tippettville
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Tippettville is located in Dooly County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tippettville
  • Abba
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Abba is located in Ben Hill County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abba
  • Rhine
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
  • Arabi
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
  • Temperance
    (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Temperance is located in Telfair County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Temperance
  • Cordele
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
  • Richwood
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Richwood is located in Dooly County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richwood
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Irwinville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • China Hill
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • China Hill is located in Telfair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for China Hill
    • Vienna
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Rochelle ...

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 40 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rochelle.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Rochelle, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Rochelle.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 Rochelle:

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