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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 Half Moon (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 Half Moon. 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 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.

Half Moon is located in Alachua 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 Alachua County: Bradford, Clay, Columbia, Gilchrist, Levy, Marion, Putnam & Union.

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

  • Alachua County     (The home county of Half Moon)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Half Moon, with the one closest to Half Moon listed first.
    • Newberry
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jonesville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Archer
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Arredondo
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Arredondo is located in Alachua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arredondo
    • Rutledge
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Rutledge is located in Alachua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutledge
    • Alachua
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Burnetts Lake
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Burnetts Lake is located in Alachua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnetts Lake
    • Hague
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Hague is located in Alachua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hague
    • Gainesville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • High Springs
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Micanopy
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • La Crosse
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Rochelle
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Rochelle is located in Alachua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochelle
  • Bradford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Half Moon, with the one closest to Half Moon listed first.
    • Brooker
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Graham
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Columbia County
    • Fort White
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
  • Dixie County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Half Moon, with the one closest to Half Moon listed first.
    • Suwanee Old Town ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Suwanee Old Town is located in Dixie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suwanee Old Town
    • Old Town
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
  • Gilchrist County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Half Moon, with the one closest to Half Moon listed first.
    • Waters Lake
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Waters Lake is located in Gilchrist County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waters Lake
    • Trenton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Bell
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Bell is located in Gilchrist County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 510 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bell <1>
    • Fanning Springs
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Little Lake City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Little Lake City is located in Gilchrist County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Lake City
  • Levy County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Half Moon, with the one closest to Half Moon listed first.
    • Meredith
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Meredith is located in Levy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meredith
    • East Bronson
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • East Bronson is located in Levy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Bronson
    • Bronson
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Raleigh
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Raleigh is located in Levy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raleigh
    • Williston
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Williston Highlands
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Williston Highlands is located in Levy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williston Highlands
    • East Williston
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • East Williston is located in Levy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Williston
    • Chiefland
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Andrews
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Andrews is located in Levy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Andrews
    • Manatee Road
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Manatee Road is located in Levy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manatee Road
    • Otter Creek
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Morriston
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Gulf Hammock
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
  • Marion County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Half Moon, with the one closest to Half Moon listed first.
    • Irvine
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Irvine is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irvine
    • McIntosh
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Paynes Town ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Paynes Town is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paynes Town
    • Heijahs Town ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Heijahs Town is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heijahs Town
    • Orange Lake
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Fairfield
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Fairfield is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield
    • Reddick
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Fellowship
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Fellowship is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fellowship
    • Lowell
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Citra
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Union County
    • Worthington Springs
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)

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

Cemeteries Near Half Moon ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Half Moon.

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 Half Moon - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • St. Mark Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • St. Peter's Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Jonesville Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Newberry Municipal Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Laurel Hill Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Shiloh Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • West Hills Memorial Gardens
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Union Baptist Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Kanapaha Presbyterian Church Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Forest Grove Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Bronson Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Osceola Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (137 more) ...
    • Mt. Nebo Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Overstreet Family Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Overstreet Family Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Overstreet Family Cemetery is located 3 miles [4.8 km]<3> to the southeast of Trenton.
    • Shady Grove Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 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.<4>

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

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

  • Jonesville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Archer
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Meredith
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Meredith is located in Levy County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meredith
  • Arredondo
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Arredondo is located in Alachua County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arredondo
  • Bronson
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Rutledge
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Rutledge is located in Alachua County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutledge
  • Hague
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Hague is located in Alachua County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hague
  • Alachua
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • Gainesville
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
  • Paradise
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Paradise is located in Alachua County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise
  • Newnansville
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Newnansville is located in Alachua County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newnansville
  • High Springs
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Williston
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Chiefland
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Micanopy
      (18 miles [29 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 Half Moon. See our List of 1890's Communities around Half Moon.

Newspapers Published in Half Moon ...

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 79 newspapers that have been published in the area around Half Moon.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Half Moon, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Half Moon.

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 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 Half Moon:

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Half Moon) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<4>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 Half Moon, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.