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 Hero (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 Hero. 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 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 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.
Hero is located in Nassau 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 Nassau County: Baker, Duval, Camden (GA) & Charlton (GA).
Below are the counties that are near Hero. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Hero:
- Nassau County (The home county of Hero)
- The following are listed by their distance from Hero, with the one closest to Hero listed first.
- Yulee
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Evergreen
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Evergreen is located in Nassau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen
- Nassau Village
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Nassau Village is located in Nassau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nassau Village
- Amelia City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Amelia City is located in Nassau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amelia City
- Callahan
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Fernandina Beach
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Dyal
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Dyal is located in Nassau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dyal
- Crawford
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Crawford is located in Nassau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crawford
- Hilliard
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Boulogne
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Bryceville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Clay County
- Bellair - Meadowbrook Terrace
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Duval County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hero, with the one closest to Hero listed first.
- Garden City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Garden City is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
- Polly Town
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Polly Town is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polly Town
- Biscayne Village
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Biscayne Village is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Biscayne Village
- Magnolia Gardens
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Magnolia Gardens is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia Gardens
- Talleyrand
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Talleyrand is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talleyrand
- Jacksonville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Arlington
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Arlington is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington
- Brooklyn
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Brooklyn is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklyn
- Mayport
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Mayport is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayport
- Saint Nicholas
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Saint Nicholas is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Nicholas
- San Marco
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- San Marco is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Marco
- Greenfield
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Greenfield is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield
- Saint Johns County
- Ponte Vedra Beach
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Camden County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Hero, with the one closest to Hero listed first.
- Scotchville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Scotchville is located in Camden County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotchville
- Estimated population in 2019: 337 people
- Saint Marys
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Kingsland
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Dungeness
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Dungeness is located in Camden County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dungeness
- London Hill
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- London Hill is located in Camden County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for London Hill
- Estimated population in 2019: 91 people
- Harrietts Bluff Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Greenville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Greenville is located in Camden County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenville
- Estimated population in 2019: 845 people
- Woodbine
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Hazlehurst
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Hazlehurst is located in Camden County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazlehurst
- Estimated population in 2019: 4,137 people
- Jefferson
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Jefferson is located in Camden County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson
- Estimated population in 2019: 12,032 people
- White Oak
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Tarboro
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Tarboro is located in Camden County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tarboro
- Estimated population in 2019: 85 people
- Charlton County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Hero, with the one closest to Hero listed first.
- Woodstock ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Woodstock is located in Charlton County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodstock
- Estimated population in 2019: 33,039 people
- Saint George
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Folkston
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Traders Hill
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Traders Hill is located in Charlton County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Traders Hill
- Homeland
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Homeland is located in Charlton County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homeland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 955 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Hero, see our County-by-County Page for Hero.
Cemeteries Near Hero ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Hero.
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 Hero - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Hero covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Hero, with the one closest to Hero listed first.
- Yulee Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Higginbotham Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Jacksonville National Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bowles Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Ogilvie Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Wildes Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Green Pine Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Owens Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Carlton Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Brazell Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Ferreira Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (99 more) ...
- Dunn Creek Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Brickyard Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Lawnwood Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
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 Hero in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Hero.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Hero, with the one closest to Hero listed first.
- Italia
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Italia is located in Nassau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Italia
- Crandall
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Crandall is located in Nassau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crandall
- Chester
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Chester is located in Nassau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chester
- Evergreen
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Evergreen is located in Nassau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen
- Saint Marys
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Callahan
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Crawford
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Crawford is located in Nassau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crawford
- Kings Ferry
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Kings Ferry is located in Nassau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Ferry
- Panama Park
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Panama Park is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panama Park
- Chaseville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Chaseville is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chaseville
- New Berlin
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- New Berlin is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Berlin
- Hilliard
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Gilmore
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Gilmore is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilmore
- Fulton
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Fulton is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fulton
- Edgewood
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Edgewood is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgewood
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Hero. See our List of 1890's Communities around Hero.
Newspapers Published in Hero ...
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 8 newspapers that have been published in the area around Hero.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Hero, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Hero.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Hero:
- Websites specific to Florida
- Pages specific to Nassau County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Clay County
- Duval County
- Saint Johns County
- Camden County
- Charlton 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 Hero, 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' (or 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- Hero) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |