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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 Belle Isle (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 Belle Isle. 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 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.

Belle Isle is located in Orange 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 Orange County: Brevard, Lake, Osceola, Polk & Seminole.

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

  • Orange County     (The home county of Belle Isle)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Belle Isle, with the one closest to Belle Isle listed first.
    • Edgewood
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Pine Castle
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Conway
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Conway have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conway
      • Conway is located in Orange County
    • Holden Heights
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holden Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holden Heights
      • Holden Heights is located in Orange County
    • Sky Lake
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sky Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sky Lake
      • Sky Lake is located in Orange County
    • Taft
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taft
      • Taft is located in Orange County
    • Orlando
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Oak Ridge
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oak Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Ridge
      • Oak Ridge is located in Orange County
    • Azalea Park
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Southchase
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Southchase have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southchase
      • Southchase is located in Orange County
    • Meadow Woods
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Meadow Woods have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Woods
      • Meadow Woods is located in Orange County
    • Williamsburg
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Williamsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsburg
      • Williamsburg is located in Orange County
    • Tangelo Park
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tangelo Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tangelo Park
      • Tangelo Park is located in Orange County
  • Lake County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Belle Isle, with the one closest to Belle Isle listed first.
    • Four Corners
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Montverde
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Waits Junction
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Waits Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waits Junction
      • Waits Junction is located in Lake County
    • Ferndale
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Mount Plymouth
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Plymouth have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Plymouth
      • Mount Plymouth is located in Lake County
    • Clermont
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Minneola
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Lake Jem
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Jem
      • Lake Jem is located in Lake County
    • Sorrento
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Astatula
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Cassia
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cassia have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cassia
      • Cassia is located in Lake County
    • Mount Dora
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Howey-in-the-Hills
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Osceola County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Belle Isle, with the one closest to Belle Isle listed first.
    • Buena Ventura Lakes
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Kissimmee
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Runnymede
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Runnymede have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Runnymede
      • Runnymede is located in Osceola County
    • Celebration
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Saint Cloud
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Campbell
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Campbell have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbell
      • Campbell is located in Osceola County
    • Intercession City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Reunion
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • ChampionsGate
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for ChampionsGate
      • ChampionsGate is located in Osceola County
    • Poinciana
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Poinciana Place
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Poinciana Place have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poinciana Place
      • Poinciana Place is located in Osceola County
  • Polk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Belle Isle, with the one closest to Belle Isle listed first.
    • Loughman
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Davenport
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Haines City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Lake Hammock Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Hammock Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Hammock Village
      • Lake Hammock Village is located in Polk County
  • Seminole County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Belle Isle, with the one closest to Belle Isle listed first.
    • Fern Park
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Altamonte Springs
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Casselberry
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Sanlando Springs
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sanlando Springs
      • Sanlando Springs is located in Seminole County
    • Forest City
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Forest City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest City
      • Forest City is located in Seminole County
    • Longwood
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Winter Springs
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Wekiwa Springs
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wekiwa Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wekiwa Springs
      • Wekiwa Springs is located in Seminole County
    • Oviedo
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oviedo
      • Oviedo is located in Seminole County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 41,652 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oviedo <1>
    • Chuluota
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Lake Mary
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Iowa City
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Iowa City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iowa City
      • Iowa City is located in Seminole County
    • Heathrow
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
  • Volusia County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Belle Isle, with the one closest to Belle Isle listed first.
    • Valdez
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valdez
      • Valdez is located in Volusia County
    • Lemon Bluff
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lemon Bluff
      • Lemon Bluff is located in Volusia County
    • Fort Florida
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Florida
      • Fort Florida is located in Volusia County
    • De Bary
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Enterprise
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Osteen
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Kalamazoo
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kalamazoo
      • Kalamazoo is located in Volusia County
    • Deltona
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)

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

Newspapers Published in Belle Isle ...

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 84 newspapers that have been published in the area around Belle Isle.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Belle Isle, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Belle Isle.

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 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 Belle Isle:

Cemeteries Near Belle Isle ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Belle Isle.

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 Belle Isle covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Oak Ridge Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oak Ridge Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oak Ridge Cemetery
  • Taft Memorial Gardens
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Taft Memorial Gardens is a large cemetery that is located in Taft.
    • The Taft Memorial Gardens has also been known as:
    • Taft Memorial Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Taft Memorial Gardens
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1217063 <4>
  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Lock Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lock Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lock Cemetery
  • Washington Park Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Washington Park Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Washington Park Cemetery
  • Doctor Phillips Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Doctor Phillips Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Doctor Phillips Cemetery
  • Pinewood Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pinewood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pinewood Cemetery
  • Chapel Hill Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Chapel Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Chapel Hill Cemetery
  • Woodlawn Memorial Park
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Woodlawn Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Woodlawn Memorial Park
  • East Lake Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Palm Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Palm Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Palm Cemetery
  • Doctor Phillips Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Doctor Phillips Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Doctor Phillips Cemetery
  • Continue List   (55 more) ...
    • Howard Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Howard Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Howard Cemetery
    • Barber Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Barber Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Barber Cemetery
    • Glen Haven Memorial Park
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)

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

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

  • Pine Castle
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Conway
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Conway have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conway
    • Conway is located in Orange County
  • Orlando
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Winter Park
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Eatonville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Goldenrod
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Maitland
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Gotha
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Windermere
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Kissimmee
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Minorville ‑ Historic
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Minorville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minorville
    • Minorville is located in Orange County
  • Narcoossee
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Narcoossee have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Narcoossee
    • Narcoossee is located in Osceola County
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Piedmont
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Piedmont have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piedmont
      • Piedmont is located in Orange County
    • Clarcona
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Ocoee
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocoee
      • Ocoee is located in Orange County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 49,168 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ocoee <1>

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

The official website for Belle Isle: www.cityofbelleislefl.org/

The official website for Orange County: www.orangecountyfl.net/

The official website for State of Florida: 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>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 from Point A (ie- Belle Isle) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Belle Isle. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 28.4724, Longitude: -81.3487       In this case, the coordinates for Belle Isle have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Belle Isle, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024