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 Matoaka (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 Matoaka. 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 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.
Matoaka is located in Manatee 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 Manatee County: DeSoto, Hardee, Hillsborough, Polk & Sarasota.
Below are the counties that are near Matoaka. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Matoaka:
- Manatee County (The home county of Matoaka)
- The following are listed by their distance from Matoaka, with the one closest to Matoaka listed first.
- Tallevast
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Whitfield
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Whitfield is located in Manatee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitfield
- Oneco
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Samoset
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Samoset is located in Manatee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Samoset
- West Samoset
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- West Samoset is located in Manatee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Samoset
- Bayshore Gardens
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Bayshore Gardens is located in Manatee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayshore Gardens
- South Bradenton
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- South Bradenton is located in Manatee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Bradenton
- Lakewood Ranch
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Bradenton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Longboat Key
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Ellenton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Palmetto
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Hillsborough County
- The following are listed by their distance from Matoaka, with the one closest to Matoaka listed first.
- Sun City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Fort Dade ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Fort Dade is located in Hillsborough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Dade
- Gulf City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Gulf City is located in Hillsborough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulf City
- Manatee Harbor
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Manatee Harbor is located in Hillsborough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manatee Harbor
- Park Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Park Village is located in Hillsborough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park Village
- Bayou Pass Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Bayou Pass Village is located in Hillsborough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Pass Village
- Ruskin
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Freedom Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Freedom Village is located in Hillsborough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freedom Village
- Montero Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Montero Village is located in Hillsborough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montero Village
- Cypress Creek Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Cypress Creek Village is located in Hillsborough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cypress Creek Village
- Sun City Center
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Golf and Sea Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Golf and Sea Village is located in Hillsborough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golf and Sea Village
- Pinellas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Matoaka, with the one closest to Matoaka listed first.
- Tierra Verde
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Pete Beach
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Petersburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Gulfport
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Petersburg Beach
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- South Pasadena
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- South Pasadena is located in Pinellas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Pasadena
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,067 people
- Treasure Island
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Lealman
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Lealman is located in Pinellas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lealman
- Kenneth City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Sarasota County
- The following are listed by their distance from Matoaka, with the one closest to Matoaka listed first.
- North Sarasota
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- North Sarasota is located in Sarasota County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Sarasota
- Desoto Lakes
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Desoto Lakes is located in Sarasota County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Desoto Lakes
- Kensington Park
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Kensington Park is located in Sarasota County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kensington Park
- Sarasota
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- The Meadows
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- The Meadows is located in Sarasota County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Meadows
- Pinecraft
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Southgate
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Southgate is located in Sarasota County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southgate
- Fruitville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Sarasota Springs
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Sarasota Springs is located in Sarasota County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sarasota Springs
- Bee Ridge
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Bee Ridge is located in Sarasota County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bee Ridge
- Ridge Wood Heights
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Ridge Wood Heights is located in Sarasota County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridge Wood Heights
- South Gate Ridge
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- South Gate Ridge is located in Sarasota County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Gate Ridge
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Matoaka, see our County-by-County Page for Matoaka.
Cemeteries Near Matoaka ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Matoaka.
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 Matoaka - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Matoaka covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Matoaka, with the one closest to Matoaka listed first.
- Galilee Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Woodlawn Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Manatee Memorial Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Braden River Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Major Adams Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Palms Memorial Park Gardens
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Palms Memorial Park
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Skyway Memorial Gardens
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Bethel Mennonite Church Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Adams & Rogers Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adams & Rogers Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Adams & Rogers Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Bradenton.
- The Adams & Rogers Cemetery has also been known as:
- Adams Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1989096 <2>
- Fogartyville Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Mansion Memorial Park
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Continue List (19 more) ...
- Sarasota Memorial Park
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Palma Sola Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Skyway Memorial Gardens
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
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 Matoaka in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Matoaka.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Matoaka, with the one closest to Matoaka listed first.
- Bradenton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Manatee
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Manatee is located in Manatee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manatee
- Palmetto
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Ellenton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Palma Sola
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Terra Ceia
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Rye
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Rye is located in Manatee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rye
- Erie
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Erie is located in Manatee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erie
- Gulf City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Gulf City is located in Hillsborough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulf City
- Sandy
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Sandy is located in Manatee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Matoaka. See our List of 1890's Communities around Matoaka.
Newspapers Published in Matoaka ...
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 26 newspapers that have been published in the area around Matoaka.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Matoaka, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Matoaka.
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 Matoaka:
- Websites specific to Florida
- Pages specific to Manatee County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Hillsborough County
- Pinellas County
- Sarasota 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> | 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- Matoaka) 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 Matoaka, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |