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 Wiley (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 Wiley. 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 and doctors 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.
Wiley is located in Rabun 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 Rabun County: Habersham, Towns, Clay (NC), Jackson (NC), Macon (NC) & Oconee (SC).
Below are the counties that are near Wiley. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Wiley:
- Rabun County (The home county of Wiley)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wiley, with the one closest to Wiley listed first.
- Lakemont
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Tiger
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Clayton
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Tallulah Falls
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Germany
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Germany is located in Rabun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Germany
- Mountain City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Antioch
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Antioch is located in Rabun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antioch
- Dillard
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Sky Valley
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wiley, with the one closest to Wiley listed first.
- Parhams
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Parhams is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parhams
- Gumlog
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Gumlog is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gumlog
- Plainview
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Plainview is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainview
- Lavonia
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Habersham County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wiley, with the one closest to Wiley listed first.
- Tugaloo
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Tugaloo is located in Habersham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tugaloo
- Turnerville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Hills
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Hills is located in Habersham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hills
- Clarkesville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Mauldins ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Mauldins is located in Habersham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mauldins
- Estimated population in 2019: 225 people
- Demorest
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Airy
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Cornelia
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Baldwin
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Alto
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Raoul
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Raoul is located in Habersham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raoul
- Hall County
- Clermont
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Lumpkin County
- Willow ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Willow is located in Lumpkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow
- Population from the 2010 Census: 15,138 people
- Stephens County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wiley, with the one closest to Wiley listed first.
- Toccoa Falls
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Toccoa
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Jarrett
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Jarrett is located in Stephens County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jarrett
- Estimated population in 2019: 3,974 people
- Carnes Creek
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Carnes Creek is located in Stephens County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carnes Creek
- Estimated population in 2019: 601 people
- Eastanollee
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Avalon
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Avalon is located in Stephens County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avalon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 226 people
- Martin
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Towns County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wiley, with the one closest to Wiley listed first.
- Tate City
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Tate City is located in Towns County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tate City
- Hiawassee
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Hunt ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Hunt is located in Towns County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunt
- Young Harris
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Jacksonville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Jacksonville is located in Towns County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacksonville
- Estimated population in 2019: 5,239 people
- Union County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wiley, with the one closest to Wiley listed first.
- Choestoe
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Choestoe is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Choestoe
- Hood ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Hood is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hood
- Owltown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Owltown is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Owltown
- Estimated population in 2019: 2,346 people
- Blairsville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- White County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wiley, with the one closest to Wiley listed first.
- Sautee - Nacoochee
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Nacoochee
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Nacoochee is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nacoochee
- Naguchee ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Naguchee is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naguchee
- Estimated population in 2019: 1,141 people
- Helen
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Robertstown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Robertstown is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robertstown
- Yonah
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Yonah is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yonah
- Cleveland
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Leo
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Leo is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leo
- Leo has also been known as:
- Meldean
- Clay County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wiley, with the one closest to Wiley listed first.
- Elf
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Elf is located in Clay County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elf
- Hayesville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Warne
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Jackson County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wiley, with the one closest to Wiley listed first.
- Highlands
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Cashiers
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Erastus
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Erastus is located in Jackson County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erastus
- Glenville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Macon County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wiley, with the one closest to Wiley listed first.
- Orlando
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Orlando is located in Macon County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orlando
- Scaly Mountain
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Otto
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Lickskillet
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Lickskillet is located in Macon County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lickskillet
- Riverside
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Riverside is located in Macon County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
- Franklin
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Ellijay
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Ellijay is located in Macon County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellijay
- Oconee County (SC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wiley, with the one closest to Wiley listed first.
- Battle Creek
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Battle Creek is located in Oconee County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Battle Creek
- Longcreek
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Mountain Rest
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Madison
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Madison is located in Oconee County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madison
- Harbin ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Harbin is located in Oconee County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harbin
- Walhalla
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Westminster
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- West Union
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Richland
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Tamassee
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Salem
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Oakway
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Oakway is located in Oconee County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakway
- Seneca
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Wiley, see our County-by-County Page for Wiley.
Cemeteries Near Wiley ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wiley.
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 Wiley - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Wiley covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Wiley, with the one closest to Wiley listed first.
- Eden Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Joy Baptist Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Jameson Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Camp Creek Baptist Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Bleckley Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Duncan Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Liberty Baptist Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- John & Ethel Watts Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Roane Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Crukleton Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Flat Creek Baptist Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Shirley Grove Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Continue List (358 more) ...
- Chechero Baptist Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Clayton Baptist Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Pickett Cemetery
(5 miles [8 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.<4>
While we didn't find Wiley in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Wiley.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Wiley, with the one closest to Wiley listed first.
- Tiger
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Tallulah Falls
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Clayton
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Tugaloo
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Tugaloo is located in Habersham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tugaloo
- Turnerville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Battle Creek
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Battle Creek is located in Oconee County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Battle Creek
- Persimmon
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Persimmon is located in Rabun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Persimmon
- Blalock
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Blalock is located in Rabun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blalock
- Longcreek
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Anandale ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Anandale is located in Habersham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anandale
- Whetstone
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Whetstone is located in Oconee County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whetstone
- Clarkesville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Aerial
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Aerial is located in Habersham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aerial
- Mountain Rest
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Scaly Mountain
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Wiley. See our List of 1890's Communities around Wiley.
Newspapers Published in Wiley ...
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 28 newspapers that have been published in the area around Wiley.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Wiley, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Wiley.
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 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 Wiley:
- Websites specific to Georgia
- Pages specific to Rabun County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Franklin County
- Habersham County
- Hall County
- Lumpkin County
- Stephens County
- Towns County
- Union County
- White County
- Clay County
- Jackson County
- Macon County
- Oconee 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> | 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- Wiley) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 Wiley, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |