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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 Jones (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 Jones. 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 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.

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

  • Hillsborough County     (The home county of Jones)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Jones, with the one closest to Jones listed first.
    • Wimauma
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Balm
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Sun City Center
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Freedom Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Freedom Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freedom Village
    • Summerfield Village
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Summerfield Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerfield Village
    • Cypress Creek Village
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Cypress Creek Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cypress Creek Village
    • Montero Village
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Montero Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montero Village
    • Stelling Village
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Stelling Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stelling Village
    • Bayou Pass Village
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Bayou Pass Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Pass Village
    • Apollo Beach
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Edgewater Village
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Edgewater Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgewater Village
    • Park Village
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Park Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park Village
  • Hardee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Jones, with the one closest to Jones listed first.
    • Ona
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Bowling Green
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  • Manatee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Jones, with the one closest to Jones listed first.
    • Parrish
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Duette
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Waterbury
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Waterbury is located in Manatee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterbury
    • Ellenton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Terra Ceia
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Memphis
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Memphis is located in Manatee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Memphis
    • Palmetto
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Lakewood Ranch
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Verna
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Verna is located in Manatee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verna
    • Bradenton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Samoset
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Samoset is located in Manatee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Samoset
    • Oneco
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
  • Pinellas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Jones, with the one closest to Jones listed first.
    • Saint Petersburg
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Gandy
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Gandy is located in Pinellas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gandy
    • Lealman
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Lealman is located in Pinellas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lealman
    • Gulfport
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Feather Sound
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Kenneth City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Pinellas Park
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Saint Pete Beach
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Tierra Verde
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • South Pasadena
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • South Pasadena is located in Pinellas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Pasadena
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,067 people
    • High Point
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • High Point is located in Pinellas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Point
    • South Highpoint
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • South Highpoint is located in Pinellas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Highpoint
  • Polk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Jones, with the one closest to Jones listed first.
    • Brewster ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Brewster is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brewster
    • Bradley Junction
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Bradley Junction is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradley Junction
    • Nichols
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Willow Oak
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Willow Oak is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Oak
    • Mulberry
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Medulla
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Medulla is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medulla
    • Lakeland Highlands
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Lakeland Highlands is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeland Highlands
    • Winston
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Winston is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winston
    • Homeland
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Armour ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Armour is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armour
    • Lyle Corner
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Lyle Corner is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyle Corner
    • Bartow
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Sarasota County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Jones, with the one closest to Jones listed first.
    • Desoto Lakes
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Desoto Lakes is located in Sarasota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Desoto Lakes
    • The Meadows
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • The Meadows is located in Sarasota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Meadows
    • Kensington Park
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Kensington Park is located in Sarasota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kensington Park
    • North Sarasota
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • North Sarasota is located in Sarasota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Sarasota
    • Fruitville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Pinecraft
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Lake Sarasota
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Lake Sarasota is located in Sarasota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Sarasota
    • Sarasota Springs
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Sarasota Springs is located in Sarasota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sarasota Springs
    • Sarasota
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Jones ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Jones.

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 Jones - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Ruskin Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Ruskin Memorial Gardens
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Samford Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Fortner Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Keen Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Hackney - Riverview Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hackney - Riverview Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Hackney - Riverview Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Tampa.
    • The Hackney - Riverview Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Hackney Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #72067 <2>
  • Serenity Meadows Memorial Park
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Lithia Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Bethlehem Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethlehem Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Bethlehem Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery is located 6 miles [9.7 km]<3> to the southwest of Bradley Junction.
    • The Bethlehem Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Bethlehem Cemetery
  • Hunter Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Brandon Family Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
  • Commemorative Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (88 more) ...
    • Hillsboro Memorial Gardens
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Limona Cemetery
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Limona Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Limona Cemetery is located in Brandon.
    • Blue Cemetery
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)

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 Jones in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Jones.

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

  • Gulf City
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Gulf City is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulf City
  • Peru ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Peru is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peru
  • Bloomingdale
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Bloomingdale is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomingdale
  • Rye
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Rye is located in Manatee County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rye
  • Erie
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Erie is located in Manatee County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erie
  • Limona
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Limona is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Limona
  • Valrico
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
  • Brandon
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
  • Keysville
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Keysville is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keysville
  • Sydney
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
  • Port Tampa
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Port Tampa is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Tampa
  • Mango
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in Jones ...

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 Jones.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Jones, there are papers which were published within 8 miles [12.9 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Jones.

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 helpful 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 Jones:

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 drawn from Point A (ie- Jones) 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 Jones, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.