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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 Alaqua Lakes (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 Alaqua Lakes. 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.

Name Variations for Alaqua Lakes ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Alaqua Lakes: Alaqua Lks.

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Alaqua Lakes is located in Seminole 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 Seminole County: Lake, Orange & Volusia.

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

  • Seminole County     (The home county of Alaqua Lakes)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alaqua Lakes, with the one closest to Alaqua Lakes listed first.
    • Heathrow
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Lake Mary
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Longwood
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Wekiwa Springs
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Wekiwa Springs is located in Seminole County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wekiwa Springs
    • Sanlando Springs
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Sanlando Springs is located in Seminole County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sanlando Springs
    • Lake Monroe
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Altamonte Springs
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Casselberry
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Winter Springs
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Sanford
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Fern Park
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Forest City
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Forest City is located in Seminole County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest City
    • Midway
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Midway is located in Seminole County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
  • Brevard County
    • Aurantia
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Aurantia is located in Brevard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aurantia
  • Lake County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alaqua Lakes, with the one closest to Alaqua Lakes listed first.
    • Ethel
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Ethel is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ethel
    • Mount Plymouth
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Mount Plymouth is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Plymouth
    • Cassia
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Cassia is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cassia
    • Sorrento
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Pine Lakes
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Pine Lakes is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Lakes
    • Mount Dora
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Lake Mack - Forest Hills
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Lake Jem
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Lake Jem is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Jem
    • Oakland Park
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Oakland Park is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland Park
    • Lake Kathryn
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Lake Kathryn is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Kathryn
    • Acron ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Acron is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acron
    • Paisley
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Eustis
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
  • Orange County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alaqua Lakes, with the one closest to Alaqua Lakes listed first.
    • Eatonville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Lockhart
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Maitland
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Apopka
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • South Apopka
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • South Apopka is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Apopka
    • Plymouth
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Fairview Shores
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Fairview Shores is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview Shores
    • Winter Park
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Aloma
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Goldenrod
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Clarcona
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Fairvilla
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Paradise Heights
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Paradise Heights is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise Heights
  • Osceola County
  • Volusia County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alaqua Lakes, with the one closest to Alaqua Lakes listed first.
    • Fort Florida
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Fort Florida is located in Volusia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Florida
    • Valdez
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Valdez is located in Volusia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valdez
    • De Bary
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Enterprise
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Orange City Hills
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Orange City Hills is located in Volusia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange City Hills
    • Deltona
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Orange City
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Lemon Bluff
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Lemon Bluff is located in Volusia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lemon Bluff
    • Osteen
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Kalamazoo
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Kalamazoo is located in Volusia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kalamazoo
    • Beresford
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Beresford is located in Volusia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beresford
    • Cassadaga
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • De Land Southwest
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • De Land Southwest is located in Volusia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Land Southwest

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

Cemeteries Near Alaqua Lakes ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Alaqua Lakes.

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 Alaqua Lakes - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Oaklawn Memorial Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Longwood Memorial Gardens
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Highland Memory Gardens
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Memory Gardens
    • The Highland Memory Gardens has also been known as:
    • Highland Memorial Garden
    • Highland Memorial Gardens
  • Sanford Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Restlawn Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Edgewood - Greenwood Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Florida Memorial Park
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Palm Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Glen Haven Memorial Park
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Cassia Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Enterprise Evergreen Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enterprise Evergreen Cemetery
    • The Enterprise Evergreen Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Enterprise Cemetery
    • Evergreen Cemetery
  • Continue List   (90 more) ...
    • Seminole Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Bay Ridge Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Zellwood Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)

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

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

  • Ethel
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Ethel is located in Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ethel
  • Apopka
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Piedmont
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Piedmont is located in Orange County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piedmont
  • Eatonville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Maitland
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Plymouth
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Cassia
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Cassia is located in Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cassia
  • Sorrento
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Bay Ridge
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Bay Ridge is located in Orange County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay Ridge
  • McDonald
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • McDonald is located in Orange County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McDonald
  • Clarcona
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Winter Park
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in Alaqua Lakes ...

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 54 newspapers that have been published in the area around Alaqua Lakes.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Alaqua Lakes, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Alaqua Lakes.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with 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 Alaqua Lakes:

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 Alaqua Lakes, 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' (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- Alaqua Lakes) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.