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 Liberty (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 Liberty. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.
Liberty is located in Walton 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 Walton County: Covington (AL), Geneva (AL), Bay, Holmes, Okaloosa & Washington.
Below are the counties that are near Liberty. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Liberty:
- Walton County (The home county of Liberty)
- The following are listed by their distance from Liberty, with the one closest to Liberty listed first.
- Mossy Head
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Pleasant Grove
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Pleasant Grove is located in Walton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Grove
- De Funiak Springs
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Union
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Union is located in Walton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
- Paxton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Argyle
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Knox Hill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Knox Hill is located in Walton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knox Hill
- Portland
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Portland is located in Walton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portland
- Freeport
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Santa Rosa Beach
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- The Village of Baytowne Wharf
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Holmes County
- The following are listed by their distance from Liberty, with the one closest to Liberty listed first.
- Ponce de Leon
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Cerrogordo
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Cerrogordo is located in Holmes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cerrogordo
- Westville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Izagora
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Izagora is located in Holmes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Izagora
- Okaloosa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Liberty, with the one closest to Liberty listed first.
- Svea
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Svea is located in Okaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Svea
- Laurel Hill
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Garden City
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Garden City is located in Okaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
- Crestview
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Milligan
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Niceville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Valparaiso
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Baker
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Cannon Town
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Cannon Town is located in Okaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cannon Town
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Liberty, with the one closest to Liberty listed first.
- Coosada Old Town ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Coosada Old Town is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coosada Old Town
- Caryville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Millers Ferry
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Millers Ferry is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millers Ferry
- Five Points
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Five Points is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Points
- Coffee County (AL)
- Kinston
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Covington County (AL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Liberty, with the one closest to Liberty listed first.
- Florala
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Lockhart
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Lockhart is located in Covington County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lockhart
- Population from the 2020 Census: 497 people
- Red Oak
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Red Oak is located in Covington County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Oak
- Onycha
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Onycha is located in Covington County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onycha
- Population from the 2020 Census: 180 people
- Wing
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Wing is located in Covington County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wing
- Beulah
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Beulah is located in Covington County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beulah
- Falco
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Falco is located in Covington County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falco
- Horn Hill
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Horn Hill is located in Covington County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horn Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 227 people
- Geneva County (AL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Liberty, with the one closest to Liberty listed first.
- Samson
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Geneva
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Eunola ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Eunola is located in Geneva County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eunola
- Costilla ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Costilla is located in Geneva County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Costilla
- Coffee Springs
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Coffee Springs is located in Geneva County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coffee Springs
- Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
- Black
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Black is located in Geneva County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black
- Population from the 2020 Census: 203 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Liberty, see our County-by-County Page for Liberty.
Cemeteries Near Liberty ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Liberty.
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 Liberty - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Liberty covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Liberty, with the one closest to Liberty listed first.
- Oak Ridge Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Ray Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Miller Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Crowder Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Magnolia Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Padgett Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Old Dorcas Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Smith Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Broxton Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Rock Hill Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Leonia Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Limestone Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (104 more) ...
- Hart Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- New Home Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Pleasant Ridge Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
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 Liberty in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Liberty.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Liberty, with the one closest to Liberty listed first.
- Ealum
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Ealum is located in Walton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ealum
- Gordon
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Gordon is located in Walton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordon
- Mossy Head
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Union
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Union is located in Walton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
- Argyle
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Florala
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Eucheeanna
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Eucheeanna is located in Walton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eucheeanna
- Ponce de Leon
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Knox Hill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Knox Hill is located in Walton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knox Hill
- Cerrogordo
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Cerrogordo is located in Holmes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cerrogordo
- Portland
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Portland is located in Walton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portland
- Westville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Continue List (11 more) ...
- Vaughanville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Vaughanville is located in Geneva County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vaughanville
- Freeport
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Redbay
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Redbay is located in Walton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redbay
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Liberty. See our List of 1890's Communities around Liberty.
Newspapers Published in Liberty ...
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 56 newspapers that have been published in the area around Liberty.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Liberty, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Liberty.
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 Liberty:
- Websites specific to Florida
- Pages specific to Walton County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Holmes County
- Okaloosa County
- Washington County
- Coffee County
- Covington County
- Geneva 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 Liberty, 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 from Point A (ie- Liberty) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |