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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 Keene (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 Keene. 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.

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

  • Nassau County     (The home county of Keene)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Keene, with the one closest to Keene listed first.
    • Crawford
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Crawford is located in Nassau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crawford
    • Callahan
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Nassau Village
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Nassau Village is located in Nassau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nassau Village
    • Bryceville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Dyal
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Dyal is located in Nassau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dyal
    • Hilliard
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Evergreen
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Evergreen is located in Nassau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen
    • Yulee
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Boulogne
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Amelia City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Amelia City is located in Nassau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amelia City
    • Fernandina Beach
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Baker County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Keene, with the one closest to Keene listed first.
    • MacClenny
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Glen Saint Mary
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Taylor
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Taylor is located in Baker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylor
    • Sanderson
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Clay County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Keene, with the one closest to Keene listed first.
    • Bellair - Meadowbrook Terrace
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Orange Park
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Lakeside
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Lakeside is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeside
    • Doctors Inlet
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Middleburg
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Asbury Lake
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Asbury Lake is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asbury Lake
  • Duval County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Keene, with the one closest to Keene listed first.
    • Biscayne Village
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Biscayne Village is located in Duval County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Biscayne Village
    • Garden City
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Garden City is located in Duval County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
    • Magnolia Gardens
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Magnolia Gardens is located in Duval County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia Gardens
    • Normandy Village
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Jacksonville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Talleyrand
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Talleyrand is located in Duval County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talleyrand
    • Baldwin
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Polly Town
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Polly Town is located in Duval County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polly Town
    • Brooklyn
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Brooklyn is located in Duval County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklyn
    • San Marco
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • San Marco is located in Duval County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Marco
    • Jacksonville Heights
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Jacksonville Heights is located in Duval County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacksonville Heights
    • Saint Nicholas
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Saint Nicholas is located in Duval County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Nicholas
  • Saint Johns County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Keene, with the one closest to Keene listed first.
    • Fruit Cove
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Saint Johns
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Camden County (GA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Keene, with the one closest to Keene listed first.
    • Greenville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Greenville is located in Camden County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenville
      • Estimated population in 2019: 845 people
    • Scotchville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Scotchville is located in Camden County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotchville
      • Estimated population in 2019: 337 people
    • Kingsland
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Saint Marys
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Dungeness
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Dungeness is located in Camden County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dungeness
    • Harrietts Bluff Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • London Hill
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • London Hill is located in Camden County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for London Hill
      • Estimated population in 2019: 91 people
    • Hazlehurst
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Hazlehurst is located in Camden County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazlehurst
      • Estimated population in 2019: 4,137 people
  • Charlton County (GA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Keene, with the one closest to Keene listed first.
    • Saint George
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Woodstock ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Woodstock is located in Charlton County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodstock
      • Estimated population in 2019: 33,039 people
    • Traders Hill
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Traders Hill is located in Charlton County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Traders Hill
    • Folkston
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Folkston is located in Charlton County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Folkston
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,043 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Folkston <1>
    • Homeland
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • 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 Keene, see our County-by-County Page for Keene.

Cemeteries Near Keene ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Keene.

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

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

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

  • Keen Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Jones Family Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jones Family Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Jones Family Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<2> to the west of Callahan.
  • Jones Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jones Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Jones Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located less than 2 miles<2> to the west of Callahan.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1979608 <3>
  • Ogilvie Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Jacksonville National Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Deep Creek Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Pinkston Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Westview Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Edgewood Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Duval County Paupers Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Hillside Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (108 more) ...

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

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

  • Crawford
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Crawford is located in Nassau County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crawford
  • Callahan
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Bryceville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Marietta
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Marietta is located in Duval County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marietta
  • Edgewood
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Edgewood is located in Duval County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgewood
  • Italia
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Italia is located in Nassau County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Italia
  • Baldwin
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Hilliard
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • Jacksonville
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Panama Park
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Panama Park is located in Duval County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panama Park
  • Sweetwater
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Sweetwater is located in Duval County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweetwater
  • Chaseville
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Chaseville is located in Duval County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chaseville
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • South Jacksonville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • South Jacksonville is located in Duval County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Jacksonville
    • Evergreen
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Evergreen is located in Nassau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen
    • Saint Nicholas
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Saint Nicholas is located in Duval County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Nicholas

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

Newspapers Published in Keene ...

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 135 newspapers that have been published in the area around Keene.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Keene, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Keene.

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 Keene:

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>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 from Point A (ie- Keene) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.
<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 Keene, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.