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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 Bay Lake (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 Bay Lake. 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 Bay Lake ...

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 have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Bay Lake: Bay Lk.

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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals 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.

Bay Lake is located in Marion 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 Marion County: Alachua, Citrus, Lake, Levy, Putnam, Sumter & Volusia.

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

  • Marion County     (The home county of Bay Lake)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bay Lake, with the one closest to Bay Lake listed first.
    • Orange Springs
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Fort McCoy
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Citra
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Sparr
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Kerr City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kerr City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kerr City
      • Kerr City is located in Marion County
    • Anthony
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • McIntosh
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Orange Lake
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Reddick
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Salt Springs
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Lowell
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Paynes Town ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Paynes Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paynes Town
      • Paynes Town is located in Marion County
  • Alachua County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bay Lake, with the one closest to Bay Lake listed first.
    • Island Grove
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Lochloosa
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Hawthorne
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Evinston
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Campville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Campville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campville
      • Campville is located in Alachua County
    • Melrose
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Rochelle
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rochelle. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochelle
      • Rochelle is located in Alachua County
    • Windsor
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Windsor. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsor
      • Windsor is located in Alachua County
    • Micanopy
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Earleton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Gainesville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Waldo
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Bradford County
    • Hampton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Clay County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bay Lake, with the one closest to Bay Lake listed first.
    • Lake Geneva
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Keystone Heights
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
  • Levy County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bay Lake, with the one closest to Bay Lake listed first.
    • East Williston
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for East Williston. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Williston
      • East Williston is located in Levy County
    • Williston
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Raleigh
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raleigh
      • Raleigh is located in Levy County
    • Morriston
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Putnam County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bay Lake, with the one closest to Bay Lake listed first.
    • Edgar
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Keuka
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Keuka. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keuka
      • Keuka is located in Putnam County
    • Interlachen
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Hollister
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Welaka
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Grandin
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Georgetown
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Satsuma
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Florahome
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Putnam Hall
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Buffalo Bluff
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Buffalo Bluff. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Bluff
      • Buffalo Bluff is located in Putnam County
    • Peniel
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Peniel. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peniel
      • Peniel is located in Putnam County
  • Volusia County

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

Cemeteries Near Bay Lake ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bay Lake.

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 Bay Lake covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Cornelius Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cornelius Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cornelius Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Simmons Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Simmons Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Simmons Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Orange Springs Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Orange Springs Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Orange Springs Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Ft. McCoy Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Pleasant Grove Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Grove Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Drummond Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Drummond Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Drummond Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Eureka Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Eureka Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Eureka Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Antioch Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Carlton Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Carlton Cemetery
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Carlton Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Carlton Cemetery is located outside and to the east of Island Grove.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #71823 <4>
  • Citra Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Citra Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Citra Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Tompkins Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Tompkins Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Tompkins Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #72697 <4>
  • Willow Plant Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Willow Plant Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Willow Plant Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (120 more) ...
    • Dupree Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dupree Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Dupree Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Gordon Chapel Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gordon Chapel Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gordon Chapel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Johnson Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Johnson Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Johnson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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

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

  • Orange Springs
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Fort McCoy
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Eureka
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eureka have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka
    • Eureka is located in Marion County
  • Citra
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Island Grove
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Johnson
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Johnson have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnson
    • Johnson is located in Putnam County
  • Lochloosa
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • McMeekin
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McMeekin have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McMeekin
    • McMeekin is located in Putnam County
  • Sparr
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Keuka
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Keuka. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keuka
    • Keuka is located in Putnam County
  • Hawthorne
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Anthony
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Interlachen
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Millwood
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Millwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millwood
      • Millwood is located in Marion County
    • Reddick
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)

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

Newspapers Published in Bay Lake ...

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 29 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bay Lake.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bay Lake, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bay Lake.

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 Bay Lake:

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

The official website for Marion County: www.marioncountyfl.org/

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

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 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.
<3>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<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 Bay Lake, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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 from Point A (ie- Bay Lake) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Bay Lake. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 29.4461, Longitude: -81.9745       In this case, the coordinates for Bay Lake have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Mar 2025