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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 Holmes Beach (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 Holmes Beach. 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 Holmes Beach ...

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.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

  • A typical abbreviation for Holmes Beach: Holmes Bch.
  • While the name of this city is Holmes Beach, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Holmes Beach may originally have been Holme's Beach.

    Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Holmes Beach might be written as Holme Beach.

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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Holmes Beach is located in Manatee County.

To see how the shape of Florida's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Manatee County: DeSoto, Hardee, Hillsborough, Polk & Sarasota.

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

  • Manatee County     (The home county of Holmes Beach)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Holmes Beach, with the one closest to Holmes Beach listed first.
    • Anna Maria
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Bradenton Beach
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Cortez
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Palma Sola
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • West Bradenton
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Bradenton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Bradenton
      • West Bradenton is located in Manatee County
    • Whitney Beach
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Bradenton
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Palmetto
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • South Bradenton
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Bradenton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Bradenton
      • South Bradenton is located in Manatee County
    • Bayshore Gardens
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bayshore Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayshore Gardens
      • Bayshore Gardens is located in Manatee County
    • Memphis
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Memphis have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Memphis
      • Memphis is located in Manatee County
    • West Samoset
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Samoset have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Samoset
      • West Samoset is located in Manatee County
    • Terra Ceia
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Hillsborough County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Holmes Beach, with the one closest to Holmes Beach listed first.
    • Sun City
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Gulf City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulf City
      • Gulf City is located in Hillsborough County
    • Manatee Harbor
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manatee Harbor
      • Manatee Harbor is located in Hillsborough County
    • Park Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Park Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park Village
      • Park Village is located in Hillsborough County
    • Ruskin
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Bayou Pass Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bayou Pass Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Pass Village
      • Bayou Pass Village is located in Hillsborough County
    • Cypress Creek Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cypress Creek Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cypress Creek Village
      • Cypress Creek Village is located in Hillsborough County
    • Freedom Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Freedom Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freedom Village
      • Freedom Village is located in Hillsborough County
    • Golf and Sea Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Golf and Sea Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golf and Sea Village
      • Golf and Sea Village is located in Hillsborough County
    • McQueens Village ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McQueens Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McQueens Village
      • McQueens Village is located in Hillsborough County
    • Montero Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Montero Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montero Village
      • Montero Village is located in Hillsborough County
    • Apollo Beach
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Apollo Key Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Apollo Key Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apollo Key Village
      • Apollo Key Village is located in Hillsborough County
  • Pinellas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Holmes Beach, with the one closest to Holmes Beach listed first.
    • Tierra Verde
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Saint Pete Beach
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Saint Petersburg Beach
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Petersburg Beach came from an uncertain source and they still need to be verified:<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Petersburg Beach
      • Saint Petersburg Beach is located in Pinellas County
    • Gulfport
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • South Pasadena
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Pasadena have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Pasadena
      • South Pasadena is located in Pinellas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,067 people
    • Saint Petersburg
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Treasure Island
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Madeira Beach
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Bay Pines
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Kenneth City
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Lealman
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lealman have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lealman
      • Lealman is located in Pinellas County
    • Redington Beach
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • North Redington Beach
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
  • Sarasota County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Holmes Beach, with the one closest to Holmes Beach listed first.
    • North Sarasota
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Sarasota have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Sarasota
      • North Sarasota is located in Sarasota County
    • Desoto Lakes
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Desoto Lakes have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Desoto Lakes
      • Desoto Lakes is located in Sarasota County
    • Sarasota
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Kensington Park
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kensington Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kensington Park
      • Kensington Park is located in Sarasota County
    • The Meadows
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for The Meadows have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Meadows
      • The Meadows is located in Sarasota County
    • Pinecraft
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Southgate
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Southgate have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southgate
      • Southgate is located in Sarasota County
    • Fruitville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Ridge Wood Heights
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ridge Wood Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridge Wood Heights
      • Ridge Wood Heights is located in Sarasota County
    • Siesta Key
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • South Sarasota
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Sarasota have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Sarasota
      • South Sarasota is located in Sarasota County
    • Sarasota Springs
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sarasota Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sarasota Springs
      • Sarasota Springs is located in Sarasota County
    • South Gate Ridge
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Gate Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Gate Ridge
      • South Gate Ridge is located in Sarasota County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Holmes Beach ...

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 45 newspapers that have been published in the area around Holmes Beach.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Holmes Beach. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Holmes Beach and those printed in the larger area surrounding Holmes Beach.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<5> of Holmes Beach.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start 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 Holmes Beach:

Cemeteries Near Holmes Beach ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Holmes Beach.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

  • Adams & Rogers Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Fogartyville Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Skyway Memorial Gardens
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Skyway Memorial Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Skyway Memorial Gardens
  • Major Adams Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Skyway Memorial Gardens
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Skyway Memorial Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Skyway Memorial Gardens
  • Manatee Memorial Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Mansion Memorial Park
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mansion Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mansion Memorial Park
  • Braden River Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Braden River Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Braden River Cemetery
  • Woodlawn Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Galilee Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Lincoln Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
  • Royal Palm South Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (20 more) ...
    • Woodlawn Memory Gardens
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Palms Memorial Park Gardens
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Palms Memorial Park Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Palms Memorial Park Gardens
    • Palms Memorial Park
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Palms Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Palms Memorial Park

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.<7>

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

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

  • Palma Sola
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Bradenton
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Palmetto
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Terra Ceia
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Manatee
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Manatee have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manatee
    • Manatee is located in Manatee County
  • Ellenton
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Erie
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Erie have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erie
    • Erie is located in Manatee County
  • Rye
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rye have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rye
    • Rye is located in Manatee County
  • Gulf City
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulf City
    • Gulf City is located in Hillsborough County
  • Port Tampa
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Port Tampa have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Tampa
    • Port Tampa is located in Hillsborough County

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

The official website for Holmes Beach: www.holmesbeach.org/

The official website for Manatee County: www.co.manatee.fl.us/

The official website for State of Florida: www.myflorida.com/

Footnotes ...

<1>It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties).
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<4>If we found a location and have questions about the accuracy of our information, we will simply say that the marker is 'in the vicinity'. We are not confident about the location and the position of our marker is only a rough guide. If we have too many doubts about the location, we will not include it in our database.
<5>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- Holmes Beach) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Holmes Beach. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 27.4971, Longitude: -82.7075    
<6>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.
<7>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 Holmes Beach, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024