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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 Alafia Ranch (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 Alafia Ranch. 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.

Alafia Ranch is located in Hillsborough County.

To see how the shape of Florida's counties may 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 Alafia Ranch. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Alafia Ranch:

  • Hillsborough County     (The home county of Alafia Ranch)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alafia Ranch, with the one closest to Alafia Ranch listed first.
    • Welcome
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Welcome is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welcome
    • Lithia
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Pinecrest
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Durant
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Fish Hawk
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Fish Hawk is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fish Hawk
    • Parrish
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Parrish is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parrish
    • West Plant City Farms
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • West Plant City Farms is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Plant City Farms
    • Boyette
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Boyette is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyette
    • Parkside Village
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Parkside Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkside Village
    • South Plant City Farms
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • South Plant City Farms is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Plant City Farms
    • Bloomingdale
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Bloomingdale is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomingdale
    • West Plant City
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • West Plant City is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Plant City
    • Indian Hills
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Indian Hills is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Hills
  • Hardee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alafia Ranch, with the one closest to Alafia Ranch listed first.
    • Bowling Green
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Ona
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Wauchula
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Zolfo Springs
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Manatee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alafia Ranch, with the one closest to Alafia Ranch listed first.
    • Duette
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Parrish
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Waterbury
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Waterbury is located in Manatee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterbury
  • Pasco County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alafia Ranch, with the one closest to Alafia Ranch listed first.
    • Crystal Springs
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Crystal Springs is located in Pasco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Springs
    • Zephyrhills
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Richland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Richland is located in Pasco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richland
    • Wesley Chapel South
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Wesley Chapel South is located in Pasco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wesley Chapel South
    • Wesley Chapel
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Polk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alafia Ranch, with the one closest to Alafia Ranch listed first.
    • Nichols
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Willow Oak
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Willow Oak is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Oak
    • Mulberry
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Bradley Junction
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Bradley Junction is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradley Junction
    • Brewster ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Brewster is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brewster
    • Medulla
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Medulla is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medulla
    • Lakeland Highlands
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Lakeland Highlands is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeland Highlands
    • Winston
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Winston is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winston
    • Armour ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Armour is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armour
    • Lyle Corner
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Lyle Corner is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyle Corner
    • Bartow
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Eaton Park
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Highland City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Alafia Ranch ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Alafia Ranch.

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 Alafia Ranch - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Hunter Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Blue Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Lithia Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Little Alafia Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Willow Oak Baptist Church Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Bethlehem Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethlehem Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Bethlehem Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery is located 6 miles [9.7 km]<3> to the southwest of Bradley Junction.
    • The Bethlehem Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Bethlehem Cemetery
  • Mt. Olive Primitive Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Prairie Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Cemetery
    • The Prairie Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Bone Valley Cemetery
    • Fuller Heights Cemetery
    • Laurel Hill Cemetery
    • Shiloh Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #72484 <2>
  • Springhead Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Memorial Park
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Hopewell Memorial Gardens
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Fitzgerald Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (107 more) ...

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 Alafia Ranch in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Alafia Ranch.

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

  • Keysville
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Keysville is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keysville
  • Bloomingdale
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Bloomingdale is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomingdale
  • Sydney
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Valrico
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Plant City
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Brandon
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Seffner
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Limona
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Limona is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Limona
  • Peru ‑ Historic
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Peru is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peru
  • Mango
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Knights
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Knights is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knights
  • Bartow
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Lakeland
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Homeland
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Keene
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Keene is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keene

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

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 Alafia Ranch:

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>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- Alafia Ranch) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Alafia Ranch, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.