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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 Essex Downs (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 Essex Downs. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors 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.

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

  • Hillsborough County     (The home county of Essex Downs)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Essex Downs, with the one closest to Essex Downs listed first.
    • Town 'n' Country
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Town 'n' Country is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Town 'n' Country
    • Bayport Village
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Bayport Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayport Village
    • Bayside Village
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Bayside Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayside Village
    • Mecca City
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Mecca City is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mecca City
    • West Waters Village
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • West Waters Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Waters Village
    • Twelve Oaks Village
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Twelve Oaks Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twelve Oaks Village
    • Holiday Village
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Holiday Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holiday Village
    • Rocky Point Village
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Rocky Point Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Point Village
    • Westchase
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Westchase is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westchase
    • Drew Park
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Drew Park is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drew Park
    • Andover Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Andover Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Andover Village
    • Brightside Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Brightside Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brightside Village
    • Chadbourne Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Chadbourne Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chadbourne Village
  • Manatee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Essex Downs, with the one closest to Essex Downs listed first.
    • Terra Ceia
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Parrish
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Pasco County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Essex Downs, with the one closest to Essex Downs listed first.
    • Odessa
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Trinity
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Holiday
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Elfers
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Land O' Lakes
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Beacon Square
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Beacon Square is located in Pasco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beacon Square
    • New Port Richey
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Jasmine Estates
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Jasmine Estates is located in Pasco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jasmine Estates
    • Port Richey
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Bayonet Point
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Fivay Junction ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Fivay Junction is located in Pasco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fivay Junction
    • Fivay ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Fivay is located in Pasco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fivay
    • Wesley Chapel South
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Wesley Chapel South is located in Pasco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wesley Chapel South
  • Pinellas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Essex Downs, with the one closest to Essex Downs listed first.
    • Oldsmar
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Safety Harbor
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Bayview ‑ Historic
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Bayview is located in Pinellas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayview
    • Feather Sound
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • East Lake
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • East Lake is located in Pinellas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Lake
    • Gandy
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Gandy is located in Pinellas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gandy
    • High Point
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • High Point is located in Pinellas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Point
    • South Highpoint
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • South Highpoint is located in Pinellas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Highpoint
    • Four Corners
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Four Corners is located in Pinellas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Corners
    • Dunedin
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Palm Harbor
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Clearwater
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • 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>
    • Ozona
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)

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

Cemeteries Near Essex Downs ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Essex Downs.

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 Essex Downs - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • American Legion Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Marti Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Oak Grove Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Woodlawn Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodlawn Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Woodlawn Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Tampa.
  • Beth Israel Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beth Israel Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Beth Israel Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Tampa.
    • The Beth Israel Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Rodeph Sholom Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2425075 <2>
  • Centro Asturiano Cemetery (Old)
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centro Asturiano Cemetery (Old)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Centro Asturiano Cemetery (Old) is a large cemetery that is located in Tampa.
    • The Centro Asturiano Cemetery (Old) has also been known as:
    • Old Centro Asturiano Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2346261 <2>
  • Showmans Rest Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Lake Carroll Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Sylvan Abbey Memorial Park
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Oaklawn Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Woodlawn Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • McMullen Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (74 more) ...
    • Centro Espanol Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centro Espanol Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Centro Espanol Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Tampa.
      • The Centro Espanol Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Cemeterio Espanol
      • Centro Espanol Memorial Park Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2355874 <2>
    • La Unione Italiana Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Unione Italiana Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the La Unione Italiana Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Tampa.
      • The La Unione Italiana Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Italian Clud Cemetery
      • L'Unione Italiana Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1979335 <2>
    • Memorial Park
      (9 miles [14.5 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.<3>

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

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

  • Tampa
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • 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>
  • Ybor City
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Ybor City is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ybor City
  • Keystone Park
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Keystone Park is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keystone Park
  • Port Tampa
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Port Tampa is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Tampa
  • Odessa
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Limona
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Limona is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Limona
  • Mango
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
  • Thonotosassa
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
  • Peru ‑ Historic
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Peru is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peru
  • Brandon
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
  • Seffner
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
  • Port Richey
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (11 more) ...
    • Ehren
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Ehren is located in Pasco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ehren
    • Gulf City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Gulf City is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulf City
    • Valrico
      (21 miles [33.8 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 Essex Downs. See our List of 1890's Communities around Essex Downs.

Newspapers Published in Essex Downs ...

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 4 newspapers that have been published in the area around Essex Downs.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Essex Downs, there are papers which were published within 5 miles [8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Essex Downs.

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 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 Essex Downs:

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 Essex Downs, 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- Essex Downs) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.