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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 Allens (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 Allens. 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.

Allens 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 Allens. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Allens:

  • Hillsborough County     (The home county of Allens)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Allens, with the one closest to Allens listed first.
    • Garden City
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Garden City is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
    • Gibsonton
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Adamsville
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Adamsville is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adamsville
    • East Bay Lakes
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • East Bay Lakes is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Bay Lakes
    • Stelling Village
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Stelling Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stelling Village
    • Progress Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Progress Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Progress Village
    • Riverview
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Apollo Beach
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Edgewater Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Edgewater Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgewater Village
    • Summerfield Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Summerfield Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerfield Village
    • Apollo Key Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Apollo Key Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apollo Key Village
    • Marina Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Marina Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marina Village
    • McQueens Village ‑ Historic
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • McQueens Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McQueens Village
  • Manatee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Allens, with the one closest to Allens listed first.
    • Parrish
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Terra Ceia
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Duette
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Ellenton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Memphis
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Memphis is located in Manatee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Memphis
    • Palmetto
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Bradenton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Samoset
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Samoset is located in Manatee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Samoset
    • Palma Sola
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • West Bradenton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • West Bradenton is located in Manatee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Bradenton
    • Waterbury
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Waterbury is located in Manatee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterbury
    • West Samoset
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • West Samoset is located in Manatee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Samoset
    • Oneco
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
  • Pasco County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Allens, with the one closest to Allens listed first.
    • Odessa
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Land O' Lakes
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Crystal Springs
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Crystal Springs is located in Pasco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Springs
    • Wesley Chapel South
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Wesley Chapel South is located in Pasco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wesley Chapel South
    • Wesley Chapel
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Zephyrhills
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Trinity
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Pinellas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Allens, with the one closest to Allens listed first.
    • Gandy
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Gandy is located in Pinellas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gandy
    • Saint Petersburg
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Feather Sound
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Lealman
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Lealman is located in Pinellas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lealman
    • Pinellas Park
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Gulfport
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • High Point
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • High Point is located in Pinellas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Point
    • Kenneth City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Bayview ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Bayview is located in Pinellas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayview
    • South Highpoint
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • South Highpoint is located in Pinellas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Highpoint
    • Oldsmar
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Safety Harbor
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Four Corners
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Four Corners is located in Pinellas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Corners
  • Polk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Allens, with the one closest to Allens listed first.
    • Nichols
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Willow Oak
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Willow Oak is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Oak
    • Bradley Junction
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Bradley Junction is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradley Junction
    • Brewster ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Brewster is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brewster
    • Mulberry
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Medulla
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Medulla is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medulla
    • Winston
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Winston is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winston
    • Lakeland Highlands
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Lakeland Highlands is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeland Highlands
    • Kathleen
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Lakeland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Allens ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Allens.

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

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

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

  • Samford Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Hackney - Riverview Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hackney - Riverview Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Hackney - Riverview Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Tampa.
    • The Hackney - Riverview Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Hackney Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #72067 <2>
  • Serenity Meadows Memorial Park
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Commemorative Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Oaklawn Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Brandon Family Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Hillsboro Memorial Gardens
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Limona Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Limona Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Limona Cemetery is located in Brandon.
  • The Home Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Home Cemetery
    • The Home Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Oakland Cemetery
  • Jackson Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Ruskin Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Ruskin Memorial Gardens
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (91 more) ...
    • Memorial Park
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Centro Espanol Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centro Espanol Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Centro Espanol Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Tampa.
      • The Centro Espanol Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Cemeterio Espanol
      • Centro Espanol Memorial Park Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2355874 <2>
    • La Unione Italiana Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Unione Italiana Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the La Unione Italiana Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Tampa.
      • The La Unione Italiana Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Italian Clud Cemetery
      • L'Unione Italiana Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1979335 <2>

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

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

  • Peru ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Peru is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peru
  • Gulf City
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Gulf City is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulf City
  • Ybor City
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Ybor City is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ybor City
  • Bloomingdale
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Bloomingdale is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomingdale
  • Brandon
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Limona
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Limona is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Limona
  • Port Tampa
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Port Tampa is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Tampa
  • Tampa
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Tampa is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tampa
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 407,599 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tampa <1>
  • Valrico
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Mango
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Seffner
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Sydney
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Thonotosassa
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Keysville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Keysville is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keysville
    • Erie
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Erie is located in Manatee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erie

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

Newspapers Published in Allens ...

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 2 newspapers that have been published in the area around Allens.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Allens, there are papers which were published within 4 miles [6.4 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Allens.

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 Allens:

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 Allens, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Allens) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.