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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 Alabama (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 Alabama. 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 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.

Alabama is located in Hillsborough County.

To see how the shape of Florida's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Hillsborough County: Hardee, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas & Polk.

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

  • Hillsborough County     (The home county of Alabama)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alabama, with the one closest to Alabama listed first.
    • Kings Village
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kings Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Village
      • Kings Village is located in Hillsborough County
    • Plant City
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Cedar Run
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Run
      • Cedar Run is located in Hillsborough County
    • Plant City Heights
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plant City Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plant City Heights
      • Plant City Heights is located in Hillsborough County
    • Strawberry Village
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Strawberry Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strawberry Village
      • Strawberry Village is located in Hillsborough County
    • West Plant City
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Plant City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Plant City
      • West Plant City is located in Hillsborough County
    • Woodfield Village
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodfield Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodfield Village
      • Woodfield Village is located in Hillsborough County
    • Colonial Village
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Colonial Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colonial Village
      • Colonial Village is located in Hillsborough County
    • South Plant City Farms
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Plant City Farms have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Plant City Farms
      • South Plant City Farms is located in Hillsborough County
    • Knights
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knights
      • Knights is located in Hillsborough County
    • Parrish
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Parrish have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parrish
      • Parrish is located in Hillsborough County
    • West Plant City Farms
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Plant City Farms have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Plant City Farms
      • West Plant City Farms is located in Hillsborough County
  • Manatee County
  • Pasco County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alabama, with the one closest to Alabama listed first.
    • Crystal Springs
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Springs
      • Crystal Springs is located in Pasco County
    • Zephyrhills
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Richland
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richland
      • Richland is located in Pasco County
    • Wesley Chapel South
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wesley Chapel South
      • Wesley Chapel South is located in Pasco County
    • Wesley Chapel
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Dade City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Saint Leo
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • San Antonio
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Antonio
      • San Antonio is located in Pasco County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,506 people
      • Former name for San Antonio:
      • Lake Jovita
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for San Antonio <2>
    • Land O' Lakes
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Blanton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blanton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blanton
      • Blanton is located in Pasco County
    • Odessa
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Polk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alabama, with the one closest to Alabama listed first.
    • Winston
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Winston have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winston
      • Winston is located in Polk County
    • Willow Oak
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Willow Oak have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Oak
      • Willow Oak is located in Polk County
    • Medulla
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Medulla have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medulla
      • Medulla is located in Polk County
    • Kathleen
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Nichols
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Lakeland Highlands
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeland Highlands
      • Lakeland Highlands is located in Polk County
    • Lakeland
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Acton ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acton
      • Acton is located in Polk County
    • Gibsonia
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gibsonia have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibsonia
      • Gibsonia is located in Polk County
    • Mulberry
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Crystal Lake
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crystal Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Lake
      • Crystal Lake is located in Polk County
    • Eaton Park
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)

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

Newspapers Published in Alabama ...

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 8 newspapers that have been published in the area around Alabama.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Alabama, there are papers which were published within Less than 2 miles<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Alabama.

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 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 Alabama:

Cemeteries Near Alabama ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Alabama.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

  • Hopewell Memorial Gardens
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hopewell Memorial Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hopewell Memorial Gardens
  • Garden of Peace Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Oaklawn Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Memorial Park
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Memorial Park
  • Memorial Park
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Memorial Park
  • Springhead Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • New Home Baptist Church Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Willow Oak Baptist Church Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Stephenson Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Stephenson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • The Stephenson Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Morehead Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Stephenson Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #72660 <4>
  • Serenity Gardens
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Griffin Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Lithia Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lithia Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lithia Cemetery
  • Continue List   (110 more) ...
    • Prairie Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • The Prairie Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Bone Valley Cemetery
      • Fuller Heights Cemetery
      • Laurel Hill Cemetery
      • Shiloh Cemetery
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Prairie Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #72484 <4>
    • Medulla Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Fitzgerald Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)

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.<5>

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

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

  • Plant City
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Knights
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knights
    • Knights is located in Hillsborough County
  • Sydney
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Keene
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Keene have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keene
    • Keene is located in Hillsborough County
  • Valrico
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Seffner
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Keysville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Keysville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keysville
    • Keysville is located in Hillsborough County
  • Kathleen
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Bloomingdale
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bloomingdale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomingdale
    • Bloomingdale is located in Hillsborough County
  • Lakeland
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Brandon
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Thonotosassa
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Mango
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Limona
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Limona have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Limona
      • Limona is located in Hillsborough County
    • Peru ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Peru have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peru
      • Peru is located in Hillsborough County

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

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Alabama. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Hillsborough County: www.hillsboroughcounty.org/

The official website for State of Florida: www.myflorida.com/

Footnotes ...

<1>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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 from Point A (ie- Alabama) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Alabama. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 28.0106, Longitude: -82.1184       In this case, the coordinates for Alabama have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>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.
<5>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 Alabama, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024