RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Florida >> Union County >> Brown >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Brown (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 Brown. 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.

Brown is located in Union 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 Union County: Alachua, Baker, Bradford & Columbia.

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

  • Union County     (The home county of Brown)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brown, with the one closest to Brown listed first.
    • Worthington Springs
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Lake Butler
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Raiford
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Alachua County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brown, with the one closest to Brown listed first.
    • La Crosse
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Alachua
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Burnetts Lake
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Burnetts Lake is located in Alachua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnetts Lake
    • Hague
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Hague is located in Alachua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hague
    • High Springs
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Waldo
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Rutledge
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Rutledge is located in Alachua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutledge
    • Gainesville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Jonesville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Earleton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Arredondo
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Arredondo is located in Alachua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arredondo
    • Newberry
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Baker County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brown, with the one closest to Brown listed first.
    • Olustee
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Sanderson
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Glen Saint Mary
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • MacClenny
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Bradford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brown, with the one closest to Brown listed first.
    • Brooker
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Graham
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Starke
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Hampton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Lawtey
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
  • Clay County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brown, with the one closest to Brown listed first.
    • Kingsley Lake
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Kingsley Lake is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsley Lake
    • Kingsley Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Kingsley Village is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsley Village
    • Kingsley
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Kingsley is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsley
    • Keystone Heights
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Lake Geneva
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Columbia County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brown, with the one closest to Brown listed first.
    • Lulu
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • McColskey
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • McColskey is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McColskey
    • Watertown
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Watertown is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watertown
    • Fort White
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Lake City
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Five Points
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Five Points is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Points
  • Duval County
    • Maxville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Maxville is located in Duval County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxville
  • Gilchrist County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brown, with the one closest to Brown listed first.
    • Waters Lake
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Waters Lake is located in Gilchrist County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waters Lake
    • Bell
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Bell is located in Gilchrist County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 510 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bell <1>
    • Little Lake City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Little Lake City is located in Gilchrist County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Lake City
  • Hamilton County
    • White Springs
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Suwannee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brown, with the one closest to Brown listed first.
    • Wellborn
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Branford
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
    • O'Brien
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)

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

Cemeteries Near Brown ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Brown.

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

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

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

  • Bethany Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Elzey Chapel Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Ft. Call Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Dekle Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Richard Family Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Douglas Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Varnes Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • St. John Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • New Hope Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Old Bradford Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Little Rock Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (139 more) ...
    • New Zion Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Markey Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • New River Baptist Church Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)

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

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

  • Lake Butler
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Lulu
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • New River
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • New River is located in Bradford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New River
  • La Crosse
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Mikesville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Mikesville is located in Columbia County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mikesville
  • Newnansville
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Newnansville is located in Alachua County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newnansville
  • Olustee
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • Alachua
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
  • Mount Carrie
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Mount Carrie is located in Columbia County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Carrie
  • High Springs
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Hague
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Hague is located in Alachua County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hague
  • Columbia
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Columbia is located in Columbia County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbia
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Fort White
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Watertown
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Watertown is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watertown
    • Lake City
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Brown ...

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 74 newspapers that have been published in the area around Brown.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Brown, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Brown.

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 Brown:

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>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 from Point A (ie- Brown) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Brown, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.