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 Sanford (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 Sanford. 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 doctors and 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.
Sanford is located in Madison 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 Madison County: Banks, Clarke, Elbert, Franklin, Hart, Jackson & Oglethorpe.
Below are the counties that are near Sanford. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Sanford:
- Madison County (The home county of Sanford)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sanford, with the one closest to Sanford listed first.
- Planter
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Planter is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Planter
- Hull
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Patterson
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Patterson is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patterson
- Estimated population in 2019: 755 people
- Ila
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Colbert
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Danielsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Dalton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Dalton is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dalton
- Estimated population in 2019: 33,665 people
- Shiloh
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Shiloh is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh
- Comer
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Madison Springs
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Madison Springs is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madison Springs
- Estimated population in 2019: 4,210 people
- Former name for Madison Springs:
- Alexanderville
- Harrison
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Harrison is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrison
- Estimated population in 2019: 442 people
- Carlton
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Banks County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sanford, with the one closest to Sanford listed first.
- Maysville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Homer
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Barrow County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sanford, with the one closest to Sanford listed first.
- Statham
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Russell
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Russell is located in Barrow County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell
- Winder
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Bethlehem
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Carl
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Carl is located in Barrow County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carl
- Population from the 2020 Census: 245 people
- Auburn
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Clarke County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sanford, with the one closest to Sanford listed first.
- Jefferson Valley
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Jefferson Valley is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson Valley
- Estimated population in 2019: 939 people
- Athens
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Winterville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Lexington Heights
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Lexington Heights is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lexington Heights
- Estimated population in 2019: 228 people
- Riverside
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Riverside is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
- Estimated population in 2016: 35 people
- Cedar Shoals Estates
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Cedar Shoals Estates is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Shoals Estates
- Population from the 2010 Census: 74 people
- Pine Lake
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Pine Lake is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Lake
- Estimated population in 2019: 754 people
- Chamberlin
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Chamberlin is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chamberlin
- Estimated population in 2019: 30,307 people
- Cleveland Station
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Cleveland Station is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleveland Station
- Estimated population in 2019: 4,165 people
- Elbert County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sanford, with the one closest to Sanford listed first.
- Bowman
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Harper
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Harper is located in Elbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harper
- Dewy Rose
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Goss
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Goss is located in Elbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goss
- Centerville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Centerville is located in Elbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
- Elberton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Silk Mills
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Silk Mills is located in Elbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silk Mills
- Estimated population in 2019: 277 people
- Harmony
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Harmony is located in Elbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harmony
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sanford, with the one closest to Sanford listed first.
- Cromers
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Cromers is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cromers
- Population from the 2010 Census: 639 people
- Franklin Springs
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Plainview
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Plainview is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainview
- Royston
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Aquilla ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Aquilla is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aquilla
- Carnesville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Canon
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Parhams
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Parhams is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parhams
- Lavonia
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Greene County
- Scull Shoals ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Scull Shoals is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scull Shoals
- Habersham County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sanford, with the one closest to Sanford listed first.
- Alto
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Raoul
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Raoul is located in Habersham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raoul
- Baldwin
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Hall County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sanford, with the one closest to Sanford listed first.
- Gillsville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Jarrett
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Jarrett is located in Hall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jarrett
- Sugar Hill
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Sugar Hill is located in Hall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Hill
- Klondike
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Klondike is located in Hall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Klondike
- Candler
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Candler is located in Hall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Candler
- Lula
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- White Sulphur Springs
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Chestnut Mountain
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Rainbow Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Rainbow Village is located in Hall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rainbow Village
- Gainesville Mills
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Gainesville Mills is located in Hall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gainesville Mills
- Estimated population in 2019: 43,232 people
- New Holland
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- New Holland is located in Hall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Holland
- Surf Side Club Estates
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Surf Side Club Estates is located in Hall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Surf Side Club Estates
- Estimated population in 2019: 202 people
- Blackshear Place
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Blackshear Place is located in Hall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackshear Place
- Estimated population in 2019: 3,527 people
- Hart County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sanford, with the one closest to Sanford listed first.
- Bowersville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Flat Shoals
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Flat Shoals is located in Hart County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Shoals
- Hartwell
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sanford, with the one closest to Sanford listed first.
- Nicholson
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Attica
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Attica is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Attica
- Commerce
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Talasee ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Talasee is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talasee
- Estimated population in 2019: 848 people
- Arcade
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Arcade is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcade
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,040 people
- Jefferson
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Dry Pond
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Dry Pond is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Pond
- Estimated population in 2019: 15,881 people
- Holly Springs
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Holly Springs is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Springs
- Pendergrass
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Talmo
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Braselton
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Hoschton
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Morgan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sanford, with the one closest to Sanford listed first.
- Braswell
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Braswell is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Braswell
- Estimated population in 2019: 383 people
- Bostwick
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Oconee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sanford, with the one closest to Sanford listed first.
- Spartan Lane
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Spartan Lane is located in Oconee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spartan Lane
- Estimated population in 2019: 1,230 people
- Overlook Village
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Overlook Village is located in Oconee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Overlook Village
- Bogart
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Osceola Village
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Osceola Village is located in Oconee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osceola Village
- Marshall Estates
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Marshall Estates is located in Oconee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshall Estates
- Estimated population in 2019: 1,227 people
- Watkinsville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Eastville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Eastville is located in Oconee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastville
- Cumberland
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Cumberland is located in Oconee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland
- Estimated population in 2019: 6,547 people
- Bishop
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- High Shoals
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- North High Shoals
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- North High Shoals is located in Oconee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North High Shoals
- Population from the 2020 Census: 736 people
- Farmington
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Oglethorpe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sanford, with the one closest to Sanford listed first.
- Arnoldsville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Cherokee Corner ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Cherokee Corner is located in Oglethorpe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherokee Corner
- Crawford
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Lexington
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Stephens
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Veribest
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Veribest is located in Oglethorpe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Veribest
- Estimated population in 2019: 124 people
- Maxeys
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Palmetto
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Palmetto is located in Oglethorpe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmetto
- Stephens County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sanford, with the one closest to Sanford listed first.
- Martin
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Avalon
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Avalon is located in Stephens County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avalon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 226 people
- Eastanollee
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Walton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sanford, with the one closest to Sanford listed first.
- Mount Vernon
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Vernon is located in Walton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Vernon
- Campton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Campton is located in Walton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campton
- Good Hope
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Nicholasville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Nicholasville is located in Walton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicholasville
- Estimated population in 2019: 3,333 people
- Monroe
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Sanford, see our County-by-County Page for Sanford.
Cemeteries Near Sanford ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sanford.
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 Sanford - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Sanford covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Sanford, with the one closest to Sanford listed first.
- Pittman Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Porterfield Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Williams Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Chandler #5 Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Bethaven Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Bradley Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Chandler Cemetery #3
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- New Harmony Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Niemmo Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Stone Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Buena Vista Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Continue List (525 more) ...
- Bradley Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Crawford Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Center Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
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>
While we didn't find Sanford in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Sanford.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Sanford, with the one closest to Sanford listed first.
- Planter
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Planter is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Planter
- Center
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Center is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center
- Dowdy ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Dowdy is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dowdy
- Nicholson
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Ila
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Hix
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Hix is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hix
- Clarksboro
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Clarksboro is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarksboro
- Athens
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Winterville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Danielsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Talasee ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Talasee is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talasee
- Estimated population in 2019: 848 people
- Dunlap
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Dunlap is located in Oglethorpe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunlap
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Apple Valley
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Apple Valley is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apple Valley
- Fort Lamar
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Fort Lamar is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Lamar
- Comer
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Sanford. See our List of 1890's Communities around Sanford.
Newspapers Published in Sanford ...
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 86 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sanford.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sanford, there are papers which were published within 10 miles [16.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Sanford.
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 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 Sanford:
- Websites specific to Georgia
- Pages specific to Madison County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Banks County
- Barrow County
- Clarke County
- Elbert County
- Franklin County
- Greene County
- Habersham County
- Hall County
- Hart County
- Jackson County
- Morgan County
- Oconee County
- Oglethorpe County
- Stephens County
- Walton County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Georgia
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 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. |
| <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 Sanford, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Sanford) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |