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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 Monroe (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 Monroe. 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 hospitals 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.

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

  • Hillsborough County     (The home county of Monroe)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Monroe, with the one closest to Monroe listed first.
    • Knights
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Knights is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knights
    • Cedar Run
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Cedar Run is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Run
    • Plant City Heights
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Plant City Heights is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plant City Heights
    • Strawberry Village
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Strawberry Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strawberry Village
    • Colonial Village
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Colonial Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colonial Village
    • Plant City
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Woodfield Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Woodfield Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodfield Village
    • Kings Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Kings Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Village
    • Kingston City
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Kingston City is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingston City
    • West Plant City
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • West Plant City is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Plant City
    • Dover
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Parrish
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Parrish is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parrish
    • South Plant City Farms
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • South Plant City Farms is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Plant City Farms
  • Pasco County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Monroe, with the one closest to Monroe listed first.
    • Crystal Springs
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Crystal Springs is located in Pasco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Springs
    • Zephyrhills
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Richland
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Richland is located in Pasco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richland
    • Wesley Chapel South
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Wesley Chapel South is located in Pasco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wesley Chapel South
    • Wesley Chapel
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Saint Leo
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • San Antonio
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • San Antonio is located in Pasco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Antonio
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,506 people
      • Former name for San Antonio:
      • Lake Jovita
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for San Antonio <1>
    • Dade City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Land O' Lakes
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Blanton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Blanton is located in Pasco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blanton
    • Odessa
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Moss Town
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Moss Town is located in Pasco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moss Town
    • Fivay ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Fivay is located in Pasco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fivay
  • Pinellas County
    • Gandy
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Gandy is located in Pinellas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gandy
  • Polk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Monroe, with the one closest to Monroe listed first.
    • Winston
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Winston is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winston
    • Kathleen
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Gibsonia
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Gibsonia is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibsonia
    • Lakeland
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Medulla
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Medulla is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medulla
    • Willow Oak
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Willow Oak is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Oak
    • Acton ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Acton is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acton
    • Nichols
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Lakeland Highlands
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Lakeland Highlands is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeland Highlands
    • Combee Settlement
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Combee Settlement is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Combee Settlement
    • Crystal Lake
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Crystal Lake is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Lake
    • Eaton Park
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Fox Town
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Fox Town is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox Town

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

Cemeteries Near Monroe ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Monroe.

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

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

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

  • Oaklawn Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Garden of Peace Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Memorial Park
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Memorial Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Hopewell Memorial Gardens
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Springhead Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • New Home Baptist Church Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Crystal Springs Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Loving Care Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Mathews Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Serenity Gardens
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Griffin Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffin Cemetery
    • The Griffin Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Galloway Cemetery
    • Sleepy Hill Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #72061 <2>
  • Continue List   (112 more) ...
    • Hillsboro Memorial Gardens
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Limona Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Limona Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Limona Cemetery is located in Brandon.
    • Brandon Family Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)

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

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

  • Knights
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Knights is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knights
  • Keene
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Keene is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keene
  • Plant City
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Sydney
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Seffner
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Thonotosassa
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Valrico
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Kathleen
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Mango
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Limona
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Limona is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Limona
  • Brandon
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Bloomingdale
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Bloomingdale is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomingdale
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Lakeland
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Keysville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Keysville is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keysville
    • Richland
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Richland is located in Pasco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richland

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

Newspapers Published in Monroe ...

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 8 newspapers that have been published in the area around Monroe.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Monroe, there are papers which were published within 3 miles [4.8 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Monroe.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Monroe:

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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Monroe) 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 Monroe, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.