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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 Davenport (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 Davenport. 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 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.

Davenport is located in Polk County.

To see how the shape of Florida's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Polk County: Hardee, Highlands, Hillsborough, Lake, Manatee, Orange, Osceola, Pasco & Sumter.

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

  • Polk County     (The home county of Davenport)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Davenport, with the one closest to Davenport listed first.
    • Haines City
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Lake Hammock Village
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Hammock Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Hammock Village
      • Lake Hammock Village is located in Polk County
    • Loughman
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Lake Hamilton
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Lake Alfred
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Dundee
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Waverly
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Cypress Gardens
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Winter Haven
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Auburndale
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Inwood
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Inwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inwood
      • Inwood is located in Polk County
    • Polk City
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Eloise
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Lake County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Davenport, with the one closest to Davenport listed first.
    • Four Corners
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Clermont
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Waits Junction
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Waits Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waits Junction
      • Waits Junction is located in Lake County
    • Minneola
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Montverde
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Orange County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Davenport, with the one closest to Davenport listed first.
    • Bay Lake
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bay Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay Lake
      • Bay Lake is located in Orange County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 48 people
    • Lake Buena Vista
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Buena Vista have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Buena Vista
      • Lake Buena Vista is located in Orange County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 26 people
    • Hunters Creek
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hunters Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunters Creek
      • Hunters Creek is located in Orange County
    • Williamsburg
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Williamsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsburg
      • Williamsburg is located in Orange County
    • Doctor Phillips
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Doctor Phillips have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doctor Phillips
      • Doctor Phillips is located in Orange County
    • Southchase
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Southchase have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southchase
      • Southchase is located in Orange County
    • Bay Hill
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bay Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay Hill
      • Bay Hill is located in Orange County
    • Sand Lake
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Meadow Woods
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Meadow Woods have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Woods
      • Meadow Woods is located in Orange County
    • Tangelo Park
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tangelo Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tangelo Park
      • Tangelo Park is located in Orange County
    • Lake Butter
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Butter have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Butter
      • Lake Butter is located in Orange County
    • Oak Ridge
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oak Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Ridge
      • Oak Ridge is located in Orange County
    • Taft
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taft
      • Taft is located in Orange County
  • Osceola County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Davenport, with the one closest to Davenport listed first.
    • Poinciana Place
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Poinciana Place have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poinciana Place
      • Poinciana Place is located in Osceola County
    • Poinciana
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • ChampionsGate
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for ChampionsGate
      • ChampionsGate is located in Osceola County
    • Reunion
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Intercession City
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Campbell
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Campbell have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbell
      • Campbell is located in Osceola County
    • Celebration
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Kissimmee
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Buena Ventura Lakes
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Saint Cloud
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Runnymede
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Runnymede have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Runnymede
      • Runnymede is located in Osceola County

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

Newspapers Published in Davenport ...

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 78 newspapers that have been published in the area around Davenport.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Davenport, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Davenport.

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 Davenport:

Cemeteries Near Davenport ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Davenport.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

  • Ret Row Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Evergreen Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the north of Davenport.
    • The Evergreen Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Davenport Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Evergreen Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #71888 <4>
  • Oakland Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Forest Hill Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Lake Lowery Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Loughman Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Oak Hill Baptist Church Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Rolling Hills Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Oak Grove Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Pleasant Hill Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Hill Cemetery
  • Friendship MB Church Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Lakeside Memorial Park
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (78 more) ...
    • Inman Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Auburndale Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Oakland Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)

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.<5>

While we didn't find Davenport in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Davenport.

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

  • Haines City
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Winter Haven
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Auburndale
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Eagle Lake
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Kissimmee
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Wahneta
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wahneta
    • Wahneta is located in Polk County
  • Gordonville
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordonville
    • Gordonville is located in Polk County
  • Saint Cloud
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
  • Green Pond
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Pond have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Pond
    • Green Pond is located in Polk County
  • Lakeland
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
  • Bartow
    (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
  • Runnymede
    (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Runnymede have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Runnymede
    • Runnymede is located in Osceola County
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Windermere
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Narcoossee
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Narcoossee have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Narcoossee
      • Narcoossee is located in Osceola County
    • Pine Castle
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)

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

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Davenport. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Polk County: www.polk-county.net/

The official website for State of Florida: www.myflorida.com/

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 location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<3>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- Davenport) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Davenport. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 28.1615, Longitude: -81.6017    
<4>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.
<5>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 Davenport, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024