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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 Early Bird (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 Early Bird. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Early Bird is located in Marion 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 Marion County: Alachua, Citrus, Lake, Levy, Putnam, Sumter & Volusia.

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

  • Marion County     (The home county of Early Bird)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Early Bird, with the one closest to Early Bird listed first.
    • Fellowship
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Fellowship is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fellowship
    • York
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • York is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for York
    • Martin
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Martin is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martin
    • Chatmire
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Chatmire is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatmire
    • Fairfield
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Fairfield is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield
    • Heijahs Town ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Heijahs Town is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heijahs Town
    • Dunnellon
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Ocala
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Ocala is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocala
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 61,669 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ocala <1>
    • Lowell
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Irvine
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Irvine is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irvine
    • Reddick
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Anthony
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Paynes Town ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Paynes Town is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paynes Town
  • Alachua County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Early Bird, with the one closest to Early Bird listed first.
    • Micanopy
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Evinston
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Island Grove
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Archer
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Lochloosa
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Arredondo
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Arredondo is located in Alachua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arredondo
    • Rochelle
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Rochelle is located in Alachua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochelle
    • Gainesville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Citrus County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Early Bird, with the one closest to Early Bird listed first.
    • Citrus Springs
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Holder
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Pine Ridge
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Pine Ridge is located in Citrus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Ridge
    • Beverly Hills
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Hernando
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Black Diamond
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Black Diamond is located in Citrus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Diamond
    • Citrus Hills
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Citrus Hills is located in Citrus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Citrus Hills
    • Inverness Highlands North
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Crystal River
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Inverness
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Lecanto
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Inverness Highlands South
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Mannfield ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Mannfield is located in Citrus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mannfield
  • Levy County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Early Bird, with the one closest to Early Bird listed first.
    • Morriston
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • East Williston
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • East Williston is located in Levy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Williston
    • Williston
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Williston Highlands
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Williston Highlands is located in Levy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williston Highlands
    • Raleigh
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Raleigh is located in Levy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raleigh
    • East Bronson
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • East Bronson is located in Levy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Bronson
    • Gulf Hammock
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Inglis
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Bronson
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Meredith
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Meredith is located in Levy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meredith
    • Yankeetown
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Otter Creek
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
  • Sumter County

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

Cemeteries Near Early Bird ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Early Bird.

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 Early Bird - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Sonshine Baptist Church Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Wesley Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • St. Johns United Methodist Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Pleasant Hill Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • St. Pauls Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Pine Grove Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Zion Hill Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Barber Family Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Church of Christ Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Carter Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Plummers Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Good Shepherd Memorial Gardens
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (99 more) ...
    • Watula Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Sistrunk Family Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Sand Pond Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 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.<3>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Early Bird had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Cotton Plant
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Cotton Plant is located in Marion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotton Plant
  • Blitchton
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Blitchton is located in Marion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blitchton
  • Romeo
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Romeo is located in Marion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Romeo
  • York
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • York is located in Marion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for York
  • Fellowship
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Fellowship is located in Marion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fellowship
  • Leroy ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Leroy is located in Marion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leroy
  • Martel
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Martel is located in Marion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martel
  • Martin
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Martin is located in Marion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martin
  • Williston
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Kendrick
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Kendrick is located in Marion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kendrick
  • Ocala
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Ocala is located in Marion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocala
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 61,669 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ocala <1>
  • Lowell
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Flemington
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Flemington is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flemington
    • Reddick
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Millwood
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Millwood is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millwood

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

Newspapers Published in Early Bird ...

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 50 newspapers that have been published in the area around Early Bird.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Early Bird, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Early Bird.

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 Early Bird:

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 Early Bird, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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 from Point A (ie- Early Bird) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.