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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 East Lake (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 East Lake. 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 East Lake ...

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 East Lake: E. Lake

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

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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

East Lake is located in Pinellas 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 Pinellas County: Hillsborough & Pasco.

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

  • Pinellas County     (The home county of East Lake)
    • The following are listed by their distance from East Lake, with the one closest to East Lake listed first.
    • Tarpon Springs
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Palm Harbor
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Cove Springs
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Cove Springs is located in Pinellas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cove Springs
    • Oldsmar
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Ozona
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Crystal Beach
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Dunedin
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Safety Harbor
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Bayview ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Bayview is located in Pinellas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayview
    • Clearwater Beach
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Clearwater Beach is located in Pinellas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clearwater Beach
    • Clearwater
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Clearwater is located in Pinellas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clearwater
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 116,552 people
      • Former name for Clearwater:
      • Clear Water Harbor
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clearwater <1>
    • Four Corners
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Four Corners is located in Pinellas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Corners
  • Hernando County
    • The following are listed by their distance from East Lake, with the one closest to East Lake listed first.
    • Timber Pines
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Timber Pines is located in Hernando County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timber Pines
    • Hernando Beach
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Spring Hill
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Weeki Wachee Acres
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Weeki Wachee Acres is located in Hernando County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weeki Wachee Acres
    • Masaryktown
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Weeki Wachee Gardens
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Weeki Wachee Gardens is located in Hernando County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weeki Wachee Gardens
    • Weeki Wachee
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Bayport
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Bayport is located in Hernando County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayport
    • North Weeki Wachee
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • North Weeki Wachee is located in Hernando County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Weeki Wachee
  • Hillsborough County
    • The following are listed by their distance from East Lake, with the one closest to East Lake listed first.
    • Canterbury Village
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Canterbury Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canterbury Village
    • Royal Troon Village
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Royal Troon Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal Troon Village
    • Keystone Park
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Keystone Park is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keystone Park
    • Northlake Village
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Northlake Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northlake Village
    • Keystone
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Keystone is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keystone
    • Fawn Ridge Village
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Fawn Ridge Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fawn Ridge Village
    • Westchase
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Westchase is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westchase
    • Eaglebrook
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Eaglebrook is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eaglebrook
    • Eastbrook
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Eastbrook is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastbrook
    • Indian Lakes
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Indian Lakes is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Lakes
    • West Waters Village
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • West Waters Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Waters Village
    • Bayport Village
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Bayport Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayport Village
  • Pasco County
    • The following are listed by their distance from East Lake, with the one closest to East Lake listed first.
    • Trinity
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Holiday
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Elfers
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Beacon Square
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Beacon Square is located in Pasco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beacon Square
    • New Port Richey
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Odessa
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Port Richey
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Jasmine Estates
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Jasmine Estates is located in Pasco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jasmine Estates
    • Bayonet Point
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Land O' Lakes
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Hudson
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Fivay Junction ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Fivay Junction is located in Pasco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fivay Junction

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

Cemeteries Near East Lake ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of East Lake.

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 East Lake - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Rose Hill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Cycadia Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Parklawn Memory Gardens
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Curlew Hills Memory Gardens
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Parklawn Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Meadowlawn Memorial Gardens
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Dunedin Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Sylvan Abbey Memorial Park
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • East Elfers Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Dunedin Highland Memorial Park
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • McMullen Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Meadowlawn Memorial Gardens
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (64 more) ...
    • Rousseau Pioneer Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Stark Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Oak Grove Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)

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

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

  • Keystone Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Keystone Park is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keystone Park
  • Odessa
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Port Richey
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Tampa
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • 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>
  • Hudson
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
  • Ybor City
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Ybor City is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ybor City
  • Ehren
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Ehren is located in Pasco County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ehren
  • Port Tampa
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Port Tampa is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Tampa
  • Thonotosassa
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
  • Mango
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
  • Limona
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Limona is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Limona
  • Brandon
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (4 more) ...
    • Seffner
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Peru ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Peru is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peru
    • Valrico
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)

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

Newspapers Published in East Lake ...

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 6 newspapers that have been published in the area around East Lake.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of East Lake, there are papers which were published within 7 miles [11.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for East Lake.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 East Lake:

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 East Lake, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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- East Lake) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.