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 Florence (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 Florence. 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 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 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.
Florence is located in Saint Johns 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 Saint Johns County: Clay, Duval, Flagler & Putnam.
Below are the counties that are near Florence. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Florence:
- Saint Johns County (The home county of Florence)
- The following are listed by their distance from Florence, with the one closest to Florence listed first.
- Fruit Cove
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Saint Johns
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Tocoi
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Tocoi is located in Saint Johns County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tocoi
- Saint Augustine
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Vilano Beach
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Elkton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Palm Valley
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Palm Valley is located in Saint Johns County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palm Valley
- Armstrong
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Armstrong is located in Saint Johns County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armstrong
- Sawgrass
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Sawgrass is located in Saint Johns County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sawgrass
- Saint Augustine South
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Saint Augustine South is located in Saint Johns County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Augustine South
- Hastings
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Ponte Vedra Beach
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Ponte Vedra
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Ponte Vedra is located in Saint Johns County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ponte Vedra
- Bradford County
- Lawtey
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Clay County
- The following are listed by their distance from Florence, with the one closest to Florence listed first.
- Green Cove Springs
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Penney Farms
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Doctors Inlet
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Lakeside
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Lakeside is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeside
- Orange Park
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Asbury Lake
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Asbury Lake is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asbury Lake
- Bellair - Meadowbrook Terrace
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Middleburg
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Kingsley
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Kingsley is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsley
- Kingsley Lake
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Kingsley Lake is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsley Lake
- Kingsley Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Kingsley Village is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsley Village
- Keystone Heights
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Lake Geneva
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Duval County
- The following are listed by their distance from Florence, with the one closest to Florence listed first.
- Mandarin
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Mandarin is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mandarin
- Loretto
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Loretto is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loretto
- Bowden
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Bowden is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowden
- Sans Pareil
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Sans Pareil is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sans Pareil
- Jacksonville Heights
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Nicholas
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Saint Nicholas is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Nicholas
- San Marco
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- San Marco is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Marco
- San Pablo
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- San Pablo is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Pablo
- Arlington
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Arlington is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington
- Brooklyn
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Brooklyn is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklyn
- Jacksonville Beach
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Jacksonville Beach is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacksonville Beach
- Population from the 2020 Census: 23,609 people
- Former names for Jacksonville Beach:
- Pablo Beach
- Ruby
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jacksonville Beach <1>
- Jacksonville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Neptune Beach
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Putnam County
- The following are listed by their distance from Florence, with the one closest to Florence listed first.
- Bostwick
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Federal Point
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Federal Point is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Federal Point
- East Palatka
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Palatka
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Florahome
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Peniel
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Peniel is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peniel
- San Mateo
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Grandin
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Putnam Hall
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Buffalo Bluff
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Buffalo Bluff is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Bluff
- Hollister
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Satsuma
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Mannville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Mannville is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mannville
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Florence, see our County-by-County Page for Florence.
Cemeteries Near Florence ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Florence.
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 Florence - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Florence covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Florence, with the one closest to Florence listed first.
- Sampson Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Bakersville Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Jacksonville Memory Gardens
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Hickory Grove Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Little Ruth Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Mt. Olive Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Holly Hill Memorial Park
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Springbank Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Sloans Landing Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Lofton's Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Julington Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Julington Cemetery
- The Julington Cemetery has also been known as:
- Julington Baptist Church Cemetery
- St. Joseph Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Continue List (87 more) ...
- Mandarin Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Church of Our Savior Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Penney Farms Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 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.<3>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Florence had a population of 250 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Florence, with the one closest to Florence listed first.
- Picolata
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Picolata is located in Saint Johns County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Picolata
- Walkill
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Walkill is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walkill
- Sampson
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Sampson is located in Saint Johns County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sampson
- Green Cove Springs
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Switzerland
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Switzerland is located in Saint Johns County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Switzerland
- Hibernia
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Hibernia is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hibernia
- West Tocoi
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- West Tocoi is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Tocoi
- Tocoi
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Tocoi is located in Saint Johns County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tocoi
- Mandarin
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Mandarin is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mandarin
- Bayard
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Bayard is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayard
- Greenland
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Greenland is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenland
- Beauclerc
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Beauclerc is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beauclerc
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Plummers
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Plummers is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plummers
- Orange Park
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Lakeside
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Lakeside is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeside
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Florence. See our List of 1890's Communities around Florence.
Newspapers Published in Florence ...
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 29 newspapers that have been published in the area around Florence.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Florence, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Florence.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 Florence:
- Websites specific to Florida
- Pages specific to Saint Johns County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bradford County
- Clay County
- Duval County
- Putnam County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Florida
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 Florence, 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- Florence) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |