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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 Briarwood (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 Briarwood. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Briarwood is located in Hillsborough 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 Hillsborough County: Hardee, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas & Polk.

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

  • Hillsborough County     (The home county of Briarwood)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Briarwood, with the one closest to Briarwood listed first.
    • College Village
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • College Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for College Village
    • University Village
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • University Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University Village
    • The Villas at University Village
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Poinsettia Village
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Poinsettia Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poinsettia Village
    • John Knox Village
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • John Knox Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for John Knox Village
    • University
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • University is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University
    • Indian Village
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Indian Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Village
    • Spring Hill
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Spring Hill is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
    • Lake Magdalene
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Lake Magdalene is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Magdalene
    • Evelyn City
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Evelyn City is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evelyn City
    • Forest Hills Village
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Forest Hills Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Hills Village
    • Carroll City Center
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Carroll City Center is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carroll City Center
  • Hernando County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Briarwood, with the one closest to Briarwood listed first.
    • Masaryktown
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Spring Hill
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
    • Timber Pines
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Timber Pines is located in Hernando County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timber Pines
  • Pasco County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Briarwood, with the one closest to Briarwood listed first.
    • Land O' Lakes
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Odessa
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Wesley Chapel South
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Wesley Chapel South is located in Pasco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wesley Chapel South
    • Wesley Chapel
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Trinity
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Fivay ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Fivay is located in Pasco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fivay
    • Fivay Junction ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Fivay Junction is located in Pasco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fivay Junction
    • Crystal Springs
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Crystal Springs is located in Pasco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Springs
    • Zephyrhills
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Elfers
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Holiday
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • New Port Richey
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Pinellas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Briarwood, with the one closest to Briarwood listed first.
    • Oldsmar
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Gandy
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Gandy is located in Pinellas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gandy
    • East Lake
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • East Lake is located in Pinellas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Lake
    • Safety Harbor
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Feather Sound
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Bayview ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Bayview is located in Pinellas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayview
    • High Point
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • High Point is located in Pinellas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Point
    • South Highpoint
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • South Highpoint is located in Pinellas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Highpoint
    • Four Corners
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Four Corners is located in Pinellas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Corners
    • Cove Springs
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Cove Springs is located in Pinellas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cove Springs
    • Dunedin
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Ozona
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
  • Polk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Briarwood, with the one closest to Briarwood listed first.
    • Kathleen
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Winston
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Winston is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winston
    • Willow Oak
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Willow Oak is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Oak
    • Nichols
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Gibsonia
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Gibsonia is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibsonia
    • Medulla
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Medulla is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medulla
    • Lakeland
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Acton ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Acton is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acton
    • Lakeland Highlands
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Lakeland Highlands is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeland Highlands
    • Mulberry
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)

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

Cemeteries Near Briarwood ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Briarwood.

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 Briarwood - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Robles Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Lake Carroll Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Oak Grove Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Shady Grove Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Memorial Park
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Myrtle Hill Memorial Park
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myrtle Hill Memorial Park
    • 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 Find-A-Grave: FG ID #72326 <2>
  • Rose Hill Memorial Park
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose Hill Memorial Park
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Rose Hill Memorial Park is a large cemetery that is located in Tampa.
    • The Rose Hill Memorial Park has also been known as:
    • Rose Hills Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #72535 <2>
  • Rose Hill Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Orange Hill Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Beth Israel Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beth Israel Cemetery
    • 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 Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2425075 <2>
  • Showmans Rest Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Woodlawn Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodlawn Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Woodlawn Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Tampa.
  • Continue List   (104 more) ...
    • Centro Asturiano Cemetery (Old)
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centro Asturiano Cemetery (Old)
      • 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 Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2346261 <2>
    • Centro Espanol Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centro Espanol Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Centro Espanol Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Tampa.
      • The Centro Espanol Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Cemeterio Espanol
      • Centro Espanol Memorial Park Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2355874 <2>
    • La Unione Italiana Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Unione Italiana Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the La Unione Italiana Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Tampa.
      • The La Unione Italiana Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Italian Clud Cemetery
      • L'Unione Italiana Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1979335 <2>

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

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

  • Tampa
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Tampa is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tampa
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 407,599 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tampa <1>
  • Ybor City
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Ybor City is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ybor City
  • Thonotosassa
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Mango
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Limona
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Limona is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Limona
  • Seffner
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Odessa
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Brandon
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Port Tampa
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Port Tampa is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Tampa
  • Peru ‑ Historic
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Peru is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peru
  • Valrico
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Ehren
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Ehren is located in Pasco County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ehren
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Keystone Park
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Keystone Park is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keystone Park
    • Sydney
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Bloomingdale
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Bloomingdale is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomingdale

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

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 Briarwood:

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 Briarwood, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.