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 Lake Sarasota (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 Lake Sarasota. 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 Lake Sarasota ...
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 occur.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Lake Sarasota: Lk. Sarasota
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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Lake Sarasota is located in Sarasota 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 Sarasota County: Charlotte, DeSoto & Manatee.
Below are the counties that are near Lake Sarasota. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Lake Sarasota:
- Sarasota County (The home county of Lake Sarasota)
- The following are listed by their distance from Lake Sarasota, with the one closest to Lake Sarasota listed first.
- Sarasota Springs
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Sarasota Springs is located in Sarasota County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sarasota Springs
- Bee Ridge
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Bee Ridge is located in Sarasota County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bee Ridge
- Fruitville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Pinecraft
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- South Gate Ridge
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- South Gate Ridge is located in Sarasota County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Gate Ridge
- Gulf Gate Estates
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Gulf Gate Estates is located in Sarasota County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulf Gate Estates
- Ridge Wood Heights
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Ridge Wood Heights is located in Sarasota County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridge Wood Heights
- Southgate
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Southgate is located in Sarasota County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southgate
- The Meadows
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- The Meadows is located in Sarasota County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Meadows
- Kensington Park
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Kensington Park is located in Sarasota County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kensington Park
- South Sarasota
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- South Sarasota is located in Sarasota County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Sarasota
- Desoto Lakes
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Desoto Lakes is located in Sarasota County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Desoto Lakes
- Charlotte County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lake Sarasota, with the one closest to Lake Sarasota listed first.
- Manasota Key
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Grove City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- El Jobean
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Murdock
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Rotonda West
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Port Charlotte
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Hillsborough County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lake Sarasota, with the one closest to Lake Sarasota listed first.
- Sun City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Park Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Park Village is located in Hillsborough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park Village
- Bayou Pass Village
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Bayou Pass Village is located in Hillsborough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Pass Village
- Gulf City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Gulf City is located in Hillsborough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulf City
- Manatee Harbor
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Manatee Harbor is located in Hillsborough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manatee Harbor
- Fort Dade ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Fort Dade is located in Hillsborough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Dade
- Freedom Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Freedom Village is located in Hillsborough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freedom Village
- Montero Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Montero Village is located in Hillsborough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montero Village
- Ruskin
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Sun City Center
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Cypress Creek Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Cypress Creek Village is located in Hillsborough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cypress Creek Village
- Wimauma
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Manatee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lake Sarasota, with the one closest to Lake Sarasota listed first.
- Lakewood Ranch
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Tallevast
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Whitfield
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Whitfield is located in Manatee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitfield
- Verna
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Verna is located in Manatee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verna
- Longboat Key
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Oneco
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Waterbury
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Waterbury is located in Manatee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterbury
- Bayshore Gardens
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Bayshore Gardens is located in Manatee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayshore Gardens
- Samoset
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Samoset is located in Manatee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Samoset
- South Bradenton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- South Bradenton is located in Manatee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Bradenton
- West Samoset
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- West Samoset is located in Manatee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Samoset
- Bradenton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Lake Sarasota, see our County-by-County Page for Lake Sarasota.
Cemeteries Near Lake Sarasota ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Lake Sarasota.
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 Lake Sarasota - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Lake Sarasota covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Lake Sarasota, with the one closest to Lake Sarasota listed first.
- Palms Memorial Park Gardens
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Palms Memorial Park
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Sarasota National Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Bethel Mennonite Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Sarasota Memorial Park
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Woodlawn Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Galilee Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Myakka Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Braden River Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Manatee Memorial Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Venice Memorial Gardens
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Sardis Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Major Adams Cemetery
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Mansion Memorial Park
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Fogartyville Cemetery
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
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 Lake Sarasota in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Lake Sarasota.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Lake Sarasota, with the one closest to Lake Sarasota listed first.
- Manatee
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Manatee is located in Manatee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manatee
- Rye
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Rye is located in Manatee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rye
- Ellenton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Bradenton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Palmetto
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Sandy
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Sandy is located in Manatee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy
- Palma Sola
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Erie
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Erie is located in Manatee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erie
- Terra Ceia
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Grove City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Pine Level
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Pine Level is located in DeSoto County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Level
- Gulf City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Gulf City is located in Hillsborough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulf City
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Lake Sarasota. See our List of 1890's Communities around Lake Sarasota.
Newspapers Published in Lake Sarasota ...
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 25 newspapers that have been published in the area around Lake Sarasota.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Lake Sarasota, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Lake Sarasota.
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 Lake Sarasota:
- Websites specific to Florida
- Pages specific to Sarasota County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Charlotte County
- Hillsborough County
- Manatee 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 Lake Sarasota, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Lake Sarasota) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |