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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 Big Scrub (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 Big Scrub. 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 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.

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

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

  • Marion County     (The home county of Big Scrub)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Scrub, with the one closest to Big Scrub listed first.
    • Eastlake Weir
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Weirsdale
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Ocklawaha
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Electra
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Electra is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Electra
    • Candler
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Lynne
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Lynne is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynne
    • Silver Springs Shores
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Summerfield
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Belleview
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Danks Corner
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Silver Springs
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Ocala
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Ocala is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocala
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 61,669 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ocala <1>
  • Lake County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Scrub, with the one closest to Big Scrub listed first.
    • Carlton Village
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Carlton Village is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlton Village
    • Altoona
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Pittman
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Pittman is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittman
    • Lisbon
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Lisbon is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lisbon
    • Grand Island
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Lakeview Terrace Retirement Village
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Umatilla
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Conant
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Conant is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conant
    • Lady Lake
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Mid Florida Lakes
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Mid Florida Lakes is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mid Florida Lakes
    • Orange Bend
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Orange Bend is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange Bend
    • Bassville Park
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Bassville Park is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bassville Park
  • Orange County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Scrub, with the one closest to Big Scrub listed first.
    • Tangerine
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Zellwood
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Plymouth
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Apopka
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • South Apopka
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • South Apopka is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Apopka
    • Paradise Heights
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Paradise Heights is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise Heights
  • Putnam County
  • Seminole County
  • Sumter County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Scrub, with the one closest to Big Scrub listed first.
    • The Villages
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • The Villages is located in Sumter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Villages
    • Oxford
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Orange Home
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Orange Home is located in Sumter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange Home
    • Wildwood
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Adamsville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Adamsville is located in Sumter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adamsville
    • Coleman
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Sumterville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Lake Panasoffkee
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Center Hill
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Bushnell
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Volusia County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Scrub, with the one closest to Big Scrub listed first.
    • Volusia
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Volusia is located in Volusia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Volusia
    • Emporia
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Emporia is located in Volusia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emporia
    • Barberville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Pierson
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Highland Park ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Highland Park is located in Volusia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Park
    • Beresford
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Beresford is located in Volusia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beresford
    • Glenwood
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • De Leon Springs
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Fort Florida
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Fort Florida is located in Volusia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Florida
    • West De Land
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • West De Land is located in Volusia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West De Land
    • Seville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • De Land Southwest
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • 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 Big Scrub, see our County-by-County Page for Big Scrub.

Cemeteries Near Big Scrub ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Big Scrub.

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 Big Scrub - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Simpson Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Altoona Hinson Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Ocklawaha Community Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Forest Hill Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Stanton Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Grand Island Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Umatilla Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Glendale Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Electra Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Lady Lake Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Marsh Memorial Park
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (119 more) ...
    • Lakeside Memory Gardens
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Shiloh Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Greenwood Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)

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

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

  • Stanton
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Stanton is located in Marion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanton
  • Moss Bluff
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Moss Bluff is located in Marion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moss Bluff
  • Ocklawaha
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Conant
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Conant is located in Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conant
  • Lady Lake
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Lisbon
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Lisbon is located in Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lisbon
  • Grand Island
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Umatilla
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Altoona
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Pittman
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Pittman is located in Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittman
  • Electra
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Electra is located in Marion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Electra
  • Orange Bend
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Orange Bend is located in Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange Bend
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Candler
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Fort Mason
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Fort Mason is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Mason
    • Lake Weir ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Lake Weir is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Weir

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

Newspapers Published in Big Scrub ...

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 31 newspapers that have been published in the area around Big Scrub.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Big Scrub, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Big Scrub.

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 Big Scrub:

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 Big Scrub, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Big Scrub) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.