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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 Chestnut Forest (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 Chestnut Forest. 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 Chestnut Forest ...

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.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Chestnut Forest: Chestnut Frst.

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Chestnut Forest. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Chestnut Forest.

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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Chestnut Forest 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 Chestnut Forest. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Chestnut Forest:

  • Hillsborough County     (The home county of Chestnut Forest)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Chestnut Forest, with the one closest to Chestnut Forest listed first.
    • Seffner
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Dover
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Valrico Village
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Valrico Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valrico Village
    • Lakeview Village
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Lakeview Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview Village
    • Windhorst Village
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Windhorst Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windhorst Village
    • Valrico
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Sydney
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Brandon
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Mango
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Bay Hills Village
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Bay Hills Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay Hills Village
    • Bloomingdale Village
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Bloomingdale Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomingdale Village
    • Brandon Village
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Brandon Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandon Village
    • Bloomingdale
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Bloomingdale is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomingdale
  • Manatee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Chestnut Forest, with the one closest to Chestnut Forest listed first.
    • Duette
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Parrish
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • Pasco County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Chestnut Forest, with the one closest to Chestnut Forest listed first.
    • Crystal Springs
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Crystal Springs is located in Pasco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Springs
    • Zephyrhills
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Wesley Chapel South
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Wesley Chapel South is located in Pasco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wesley Chapel South
    • Wesley Chapel
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Land O' Lakes
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Richland
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Richland is located in Pasco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richland
    • Odessa
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Saint Leo
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • San Antonio
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • San Antonio is located in Pasco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Antonio
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,506 people
      • Former name for San Antonio:
      • Lake Jovita
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for San Antonio <1>
    • Dade City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Fivay ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Fivay is located in Pasco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fivay
    • Fivay Junction ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Fivay Junction is located in Pasco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fivay Junction
    • Blanton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Blanton is located in Pasco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blanton
  • Pinellas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Chestnut Forest, with the one closest to Chestnut Forest listed first.
    • Gandy
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Gandy is located in Pinellas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gandy
    • Oldsmar
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Feather Sound
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Safety Harbor
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Bayview ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Bayview is located in Pinellas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayview
    • High Point
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • High Point is located in Pinellas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Point
    • Lealman
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Lealman is located in Pinellas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lealman
    • Saint Petersburg
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • East Lake
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • East Lake is located in Pinellas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Lake
    • South Highpoint
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • South Highpoint is located in Pinellas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Highpoint
    • Four Corners
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Four Corners is located in Pinellas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Corners
    • Pinellas Park
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Kenneth City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Polk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Chestnut Forest, with the one closest to Chestnut Forest listed first.
    • Winston
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Winston is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winston
    • Willow Oak
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Willow Oak is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Oak
    • Nichols
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Medulla
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Medulla is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medulla
    • Kathleen
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Lakeland Highlands
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Lakeland Highlands is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeland Highlands
    • Lakeland
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Mulberry
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Gibsonia
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Gibsonia is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibsonia
    • Acton ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Acton is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acton
    • Combee Settlement
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Combee Settlement is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Combee Settlement
    • Crystal Lake
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Crystal Lake is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Lake
    • Bradley Junction
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Bradley Junction is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradley Junction

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

Cemeteries Near Chestnut Forest ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Chestnut Forest.

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 Chestnut Forest - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Mathews Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Brandon Family Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Limona Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Limona Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Limona Cemetery is located in Brandon.
  • Hillsboro Memorial Gardens
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Loving Care Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Commemorative Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Memorial Park
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Sunset Gardens Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Hackney - Riverview Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hackney - Riverview Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Hackney - Riverview Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Tampa.
    • The Hackney - Riverview Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Hackney Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #72067 <3>
  • Serenity Meadows Memorial Park
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Hopewell Memorial Gardens
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Garden of Peace Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (111 more) ...
    • Oaklawn Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Memorial Park
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Orange Hill Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)

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

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

  • Seffner
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Brandon
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Valrico
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Sydney
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Mango
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Limona
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Limona is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Limona
  • Bloomingdale
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Bloomingdale is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomingdale
  • Thonotosassa
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Plant City
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Peru ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Peru is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peru
  • Knights
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Knights is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knights
  • Keene
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Keene is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keene
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Ybor City
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Ybor City is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ybor City
    • Keysville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Keysville is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keysville
    • Tampa
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • 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>

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

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 Chestnut Forest:

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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Chestnut Forest) 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 Chestnut Forest, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.