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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 Old Town (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 Old Town. 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 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 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.

Old Town is located in Dixie County.

To see how the shape of Florida's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Dixie County: Gilchrist, Lafayette, Levy & Taylor.

Below are the counties that are near Old Town. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Old Town:

  • Dixie County     (The home county of Old Town)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Old Town, with the one closest to Old Town listed first.
    • Suwanee Old Town ‑ Historic
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Suwanee Old Town have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suwanee Old Town
      • Suwanee Old Town is located in Dixie County
    • Cross City
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Horseshoe Beach
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Suwannee
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Steward City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Steward City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steward City
      • Steward City is located in Dixie County
  • Alachua County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Old Town, with the one closest to Old Town listed first.
    • Newberry
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Jonesville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • High Springs
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Archer
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
  • Columbia County
    • Fort White
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Gilchrist County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Old Town, with the one closest to Old Town listed first.
    • Fanning Springs
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Trenton
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Bell
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell
      • Bell is located in Gilchrist County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 510 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bell <2>
    • Little Lake City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Little Lake City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Lake City
      • Little Lake City is located in Gilchrist County
    • Waters Lake
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waters Lake
      • Waters Lake is located in Gilchrist County
  • Levy County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Old Town, with the one closest to Old Town listed first.
    • Andrews
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Andrews have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Andrews
      • Andrews is located in Levy County
    • Manatee Road
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Manatee Road have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manatee Road
      • Manatee Road is located in Levy County
    • Chiefland
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Otter Creek
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Bronson
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • East Bronson
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Bronson
      • East Bronson is located in Levy County
    • Gulf Hammock
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Suwannee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Old Town, with the one closest to Old Town listed first.
    • Suwannee
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suwannee
      • Suwannee is located in Suwannee County
    • Branford
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • O'Brien
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Taylor County

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

Newspapers Published in Old Town ...

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 18 newspapers that have been published in the area around Old Town.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Old Town, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Old Town.

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 either 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 Old Town:

Cemeteries Near Old Town ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Old Town.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

  • Shady Grove Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Shady Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Shady Grove Cemetery
  • Old Town Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Bethel Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • The Bethel Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Cherry Sink Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bethel Cemetery
  • McCrabb Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the McCrabb Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the McCrabb Cemetery
  • Long Pond Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Long Pond Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Long Pond Cemetery
  • Midway Church of Christ Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Priscilla Baptist Church Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Fayetteville Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fayetteville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fayetteville Cemetery
  • Jennings Lake Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Chiefland Community Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Chiefland Community Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Chiefland Community Cemetery
  • Hardee Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hardee Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hardee Cemetery
  • Mt. Olive Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Olive Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Olive Cemetery
  • Continue List   (73 more) ...
    • Trenton Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Trenton Community Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Antioch Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Antioch Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Antioch Cemetery

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.<5>

While we didn't find Old Town in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Old Town.

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

  • Chiefland
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Suwannee
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suwannee
    • Suwannee is located in Suwannee County
  • Otter Creek
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Ellzey
    (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ellzey have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellzey
    • Ellzey is located in Levy County
  • Bronson
    (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
  • Meredith
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Meredith have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meredith
    • Meredith is located in Levy County
  • Branford
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
  • Rosewood
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rosewood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosewood
    • Rosewood is located in Levy County
  • Sumner
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sumner have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumner
    • Sumner is located in Levy County
  • Jonesville
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
  • High Springs
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Fort White
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Gulf Hammock
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Archer
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)

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

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Old Town. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Dixie County: www.dixie-county.com/

The official website for State of Florida: www.myflorida.com/

Footnotes ...

<1>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Old Town) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Old Town. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 29.6017, Longitude: -82.9819    
<4>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.
<5>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 Old Town, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024