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 Blacks Ford (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 Blacks Ford. 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 Blacks Ford ...
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 occur.
- A typical abbreviation for Blacks Ford: Blacks Frd.
- While the name of this community is Blacks Ford, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Blacks Ford may originally have been Black's Ford.
Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Blacks Ford might be written as Black Ford.
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 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.
Blacks Ford is located in Saint Johns 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 Saint Johns County: Clay, Duval, Flagler & Putnam.
Below are the counties that are near Blacks Ford. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Blacks Ford:
- Saint Johns County (The home county of Blacks Ford)
- The following are listed by their distance from Blacks Ford, with the one closest to Blacks Ford listed first.
- Fruit Cove
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Johns
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Palm Valley
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Palm Valley is located in Saint Johns County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palm Valley
- Tocoi
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Tocoi is located in Saint Johns County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tocoi
- Sawgrass
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Sawgrass is located in Saint Johns County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sawgrass
- Ponte Vedra Beach
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Ponte Vedra
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Ponte Vedra is located in Saint Johns County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ponte Vedra
- Vilano Beach
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Saint Augustine
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Elkton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Armstrong
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Armstrong is located in Saint Johns County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armstrong
- Saint Augustine South
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Saint Augustine South is located in Saint Johns County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Augustine South
- Bradford County
- Lawtey
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Clay County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blacks Ford, with the one closest to Blacks Ford listed first.
- Green Cove Springs
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Orange Park
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Lakeside
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Lakeside is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeside
- Doctors Inlet
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Bellair - Meadowbrook Terrace
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Asbury Lake
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Asbury Lake is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asbury Lake
- Penney Farms
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Middleburg
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Kingsley
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Kingsley is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsley
- Kingsley Lake
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Kingsley Lake is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsley Lake
- Kingsley Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Kingsley Village is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsley Village
- Duval County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blacks Ford, with the one closest to Blacks Ford listed first.
- Loretto
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Loretto is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loretto
- Mandarin
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Mandarin is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mandarin
- Bowden
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Bowden is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowden
- Sans Pareil
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Sans Pareil is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sans Pareil
- Saint Nicholas
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Saint Nicholas is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Nicholas
- San Marco
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- San Marco is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Marco
- San Pablo
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- San Pablo is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Pablo
- Jacksonville Heights
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Arlington
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Arlington is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington
- Jacksonville Beach
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Jacksonville Beach is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacksonville Beach
- Population from the 2020 Census: 23,609 people
- Former names for Jacksonville Beach:
- Pablo Beach
- Ruby
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jacksonville Beach <2>
- Brooklyn
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Brooklyn is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklyn
- Neptune Beach
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Putnam County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blacks Ford, with the one closest to Blacks Ford listed first.
- Bostwick
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Federal Point
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Federal Point is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Federal Point
- East Palatka
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Palatka
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Florahome
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Peniel
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Peniel is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peniel
- San Mateo
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Grandin
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Blacks Ford, see our County-by-County Page for Blacks Ford.
Cemeteries Near Blacks Ford ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Blacks Ford.
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 Blacks Ford - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Blacks Ford covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Blacks Ford, with the one closest to Blacks Ford listed first.
- Sampson Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Julington Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Julington Cemetery
- The Julington Cemetery has also been known as:
- Julington Baptist Church Cemetery
- Jacksonville Memory Gardens
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Sloans Landing Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Lofton's Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- St. Joseph Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Mt. Olive Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Holly Hill Memorial Park
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Hickory Grove Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Bakersville Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Mandarin Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Church of Our Savior Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (82 more) ...
- Little Ruth Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Springbank Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Magnolia Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
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.<4>
While we didn't find Blacks Ford in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Blacks Ford.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Blacks Ford, with the one closest to Blacks Ford listed first.
- Sampson
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Sampson is located in Saint Johns County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sampson
- Florence
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Florence is located in Saint Johns County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
- Switzerland
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Switzerland is located in Saint Johns County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Switzerland
- Bayard
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Bayard is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayard
- Green Cove Springs
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Greenland
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Greenland is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenland
- Mandarin
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Mandarin is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mandarin
- Hibernia
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Hibernia is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hibernia
- Walkill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Walkill is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walkill
- Picolata
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Picolata is located in Saint Johns County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Picolata
- Plummers
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Plummers is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plummers
- Beauclerc
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Beauclerc is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beauclerc
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Orange Park
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Tocoi
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Tocoi is located in Saint Johns County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tocoi
- Lakeside
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Lakeside is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeside
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Blacks Ford. See our List of 1890's Communities around Blacks Ford.
Newspapers Published in Blacks Ford ...
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 26 newspapers that have been published in the area around Blacks Ford.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Blacks Ford, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Blacks Ford.
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 Blacks Ford:
- Websites specific to Florida
- Pages specific to Saint Johns County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bradford County
- Clay County
- Duval County
- Putnam County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Florida
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> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 Blacks Ford, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <5> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Blacks Ford) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |