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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 Shewmake (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 Shewmake. 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 hospitals and 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.

Shewmake is located in Laurens 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 Laurens County: Bleckley, Dodge, Johnson, Treutlen, Twiggs, Wheeler & Wilkinson.

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

  • Laurens County     (The home county of Shewmake)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shewmake, with the one closest to Shewmake listed first.
    • Dudley
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Dexter
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Dublin
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Montrose
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • East Dublin
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Rentz
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Cadwell
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Midway
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Midway is located in Laurens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
      • Estimated population in 2019: 2,061 people
    • Tuckers Crossroad
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Tuckers Crossroad is located in Laurens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuckers Crossroad
    • Lovett
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Lovett is located in Laurens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lovett
    • Rockledge
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Cedar Grove
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Cedar Grove is located in Laurens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
  • Bleckley County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shewmake, with the one closest to Shewmake listed first.
    • Allentown
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Cochran
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Royal
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Royal is located in Bleckley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal
      • Estimated population in 2019: 2,571 people
  • Dodge County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shewmake, with the one closest to Shewmake listed first.
    • Chester
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Bryant
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Bryant is located in Dodge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryant
    • Yonkers
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Yonkers is located in Dodge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yonkers
    • Plainfield
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Empire
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Empire is located in Dodge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Empire
    • Eastman
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Chauncey
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
  • Johnson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shewmake, with the one closest to Shewmake listed first.
    • Wrightsville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Adrian
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
  • Montgomery County
    • Tarrytown
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Pulaski County
    • Hawkinsville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Treutlen County
    • Soperton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
  • Twiggs County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shewmake, with the one closest to Shewmake listed first.
    • Danville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Jeffersonville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Marion
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Marion is located in Twiggs County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marion
  • Washington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shewmake, with the one closest to Shewmake listed first.
    • Gardner
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Gardner is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gardner
      • Estimated population in 2019: 201 people
    • Oconee
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Harrison
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Wheeler County
    • Alamo
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Alamo is located in Wheeler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alamo
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,301 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alamo <1>
  • Wilkinson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shewmake, with the one closest to Shewmake listed first.
    • Beech Hill
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Beech Hill is located in Wilkinson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beech Hill
    • Toomsboro
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Irwinton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • McIntyre
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Dedrich
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Dedrich is located in Wilkinson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dedrich
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 2,146 people
    • Gordon
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Gordon is located in Wilkinson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,819 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gordon <1>

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

Cemeteries Near Shewmake ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Shewmake.

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

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

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

  • Dublin Memorial Gardens
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Dexter Baptist Church Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Pope Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Heath Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • St. Lukes Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Alligood Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Brown Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brown Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Brown Cemetery is located 3 miles [4.8 km]<2> to the southwest of Dublin.
  • Haskins Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Heath Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Buckhorn Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Mt. Carmel Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Grant Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (295 more) ...
    • Poplar Springs Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Ussery Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Oak Grove Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 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>

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

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

  • Dudley
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Springhaven ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Springhaven is located in Laurens County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springhaven
  • Dexter
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Dublin
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Nameless
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Nameless is located in Laurens County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nameless
  • Chester
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Condor
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Condor is located in Laurens County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Condor
  • Allentown
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Beehive ‑ Historic
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Beehive is located in Dodge County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beehive
  • Tweed
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Tweed is located in Laurens County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tweed
  • Lovett
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Lovett is located in Laurens County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lovett
  • Westbrook ‑ Historic
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Westbrook is located in Laurens County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westbrook
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Walkee ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Walkee is located in Laurens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walkee
    • Empire
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Empire is located in Dodge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Empire
    • Carne ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Carne is located in Dodge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carne

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

Newspapers Published in Shewmake ...

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 44 newspapers that have been published in the area around Shewmake.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Shewmake, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Shewmake.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Shewmake:

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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Shewmake) 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 Shewmake, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.