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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 Bearss Heights (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 Bearss Heights. 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 Bearss Heights ...

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.

  • A typical abbreviation for Bearss Heights: Bearss Hts. (in Canada, 'Hgts.' is the more common abbreviation.)
  • While the name of this community is Bearss Heights, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Bearss Heights may originally have been Bears's Heights.

    Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Bearss Heights might be written as Bears Heights.

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 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 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.

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

  • Hillsborough County     (The home county of Bearss Heights)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bearss Heights, with the one closest to Bearss Heights listed first.
    • Northwood Village
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Northwood Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northwood Village
      • Northwood Village is located in Hillsborough County
    • Indian Mound Village
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian Mound Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Mound Village
      • Indian Mound Village is located in Hillsborough County
    • Woodbriar Village
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodbriar Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodbriar Village
      • Woodbriar Village is located in Hillsborough County
    • The Villas at University Village
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for The Villas at University Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Villas at University Village
      • The Villas at University Village is located in Hillsborough County
    • Lake Magdalene
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Magdalene have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Magdalene
      • Lake Magdalene is located in Hillsborough County
    • Brant Lake Village
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brant Lake Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brant Lake Village
      • Brant Lake Village is located in Hillsborough County
    • Indian Village
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Village
      • Indian Village is located in Hillsborough County
    • John Knox Village
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for John Knox Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for John Knox Village
      • John Knox Village is located in Hillsborough County
    • University Village
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for University Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University Village
      • University Village is located in Hillsborough County
    • University
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for University. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University
      • University is located in Hillsborough County
    • Cherry Creek
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Creek
      • Cherry Creek is located in Hillsborough County
    • Hampton Village
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hampton Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampton Village
      • Hampton Village is located in Hillsborough County
    • Rolling Green Village
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rolling Green Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rolling Green Village
      • Rolling Green Village is located in Hillsborough County
  • Hernando County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bearss Heights, with the one closest to Bearss Heights listed first.
    • Masaryktown
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Spring Hill
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Timber Pines
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Timber Pines have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timber Pines
      • Timber Pines is located in Hernando County
    • Weeki Wachee Acres
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Weeki Wachee Acres have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weeki Wachee Acres
      • Weeki Wachee Acres is located in Hernando County
    • Spring Lake
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Lake
      • Spring Lake is located in Hernando County
    • South Brooksville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Brooksville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Brooksville
      • South Brooksville is located in Hernando County
    • Weeki Wachee
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
    • Hernando Beach
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Pasco County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bearss Heights, with the one closest to Bearss Heights listed first.
    • Odessa
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Land O' Lakes
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Wesley Chapel South
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wesley Chapel South
      • Wesley Chapel South is located in Pasco County
    • Wesley Chapel
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Trinity
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Fivay Junction ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fivay Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fivay Junction
      • Fivay Junction is located in Pasco County
    • Fivay ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Fivay. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fivay
      • Fivay is located in Pasco County
    • Elfers
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Holiday
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Crystal Springs
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Springs
      • Crystal Springs is located in Pasco County
    • Zephyrhills
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • New Port Richey
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Beacon Square
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beacon Square have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beacon Square
      • Beacon Square is located in Pasco County
  • Pinellas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bearss Heights, with the one closest to Bearss Heights listed first.
    • Oldsmar
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • East Lake
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Lake
      • East Lake is located in Pinellas County
    • Safety Harbor
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Bayview ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bayview have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayview
      • Bayview is located in Pinellas County
    • Gandy
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gandy have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gandy
      • Gandy is located in Pinellas County
    • Feather Sound
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Palm Harbor
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Tarpon Springs
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • High Point
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for High Point have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Point
      • High Point is located in Pinellas County
    • Cove Springs
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cove Springs
      • Cove Springs is located in Pinellas County
    • Crystal Beach
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Dunedin
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Ozona
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
  • Polk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bearss Heights, with the one closest to Bearss Heights listed first.
    • Kathleen
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Winston
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Winston have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winston
      • Winston is located in Polk County
    • Gibsonia
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gibsonia have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibsonia
      • Gibsonia is located in Polk County
    • Nichols
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Willow Oak
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Willow Oak have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Oak
      • Willow Oak is located in Polk County
    • Lakeland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Medulla
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Medulla have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medulla
      • Medulla is located in Polk County

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

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 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 Bearss Heights:

Cemeteries Near Bearss Heights ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bearss Heights.

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 Bearss Heights covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Lake Carroll Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lake Carroll Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lake Carroll Cemetery
  • Oak Grove Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oak Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oak Grove Cemetery
  • Robles Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Robles Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Robles Cemetery
  • Shady Grove Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Shady Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Shady Grove Cemetery
  • Gan Shalom Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Showmans Rest Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Beth Israel Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Beth Israel Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Tampa.
    • The Beth Israel Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Rodeph Sholom Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Beth Israel Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2425075 <5>
  • Woodlawn Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Woodlawn Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Tampa.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Woodlawn Cemetery
  • Centro Asturiano Cemetery (Old)
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Centro Asturiano Cemetery (Old) is a large cemetery that is located in Tampa.
    • The Centro Asturiano Cemetery (Old) has also been known as:
    • Old Centro Asturiano Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Centro Asturiano Cemetery (Old)
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2346261 <5>
  • Memorial Park
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Memorial Park
  • The Home Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • The The Home Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Oakland Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the The Home Cemetery
  • Jackson Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Jackson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Jackson Cemetery
  • Continue List   (100 more) ...
    • Garden of Memories
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Garden of Memories is a very large cemetery that is located in Tampa.
      • The Garden of Memories has also been known as:
      • Garden of Memories Cemetery
      • Tampa Garden of Memories Cemetery
      • Tampa Garden of Memories
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Garden of Memories
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #72022 <5>
    • Myrtle Hill Memorial Park
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Myrtle Hill Memorial Park is a very large cemetery that is located in Tampa.
      • The Myrtle Hill Memorial Park has also been known as:
      • Myrtle Hill Cemetery
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Myrtle Hill Memorial Park
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #72326 <5>
    • Rose Hill Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rose Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rose Hill Cemetery

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.<6>

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

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

  • Tampa
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tampa
    • Tampa is located in Hillsborough County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 407,599 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tampa <4>
  • Ybor City
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ybor City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ybor City
    • Ybor City is located in Hillsborough County
  • Odessa
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Thonotosassa
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Mango
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Ehren
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ehren have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ehren
    • Ehren is located in Pasco County
  • Keystone Park
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Keystone Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keystone Park
    • Keystone Park is located in Hillsborough County
  • Limona
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Limona have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Limona
    • Limona is located in Hillsborough County
  • Seffner
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Brandon
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Port Tampa
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Port Tampa have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Tampa
    • Port Tampa is located in Hillsborough County
  • Valrico
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Peru ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Peru have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peru
      • Peru is located in Hillsborough County
    • Sydney
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Bloomingdale
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bloomingdale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomingdale
      • Bloomingdale 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 Bearss Heights. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bearss Heights.

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Bearss Heights. 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>It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties).
<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>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<5>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.
<6>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 Bearss Heights, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024