RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Florida >> Marion County >> Orange Blossom Hills >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Orange Blossom Hills (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 Orange Blossom Hills. 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 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.

Orange Blossom Hills is located in Marion 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 Marion County: Alachua, Citrus, Lake, Levy, Putnam, Sumter & Volusia.

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

  • Marion County     (The home county of Orange Blossom Hills)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orange Blossom Hills, with the one closest to Orange Blossom Hills listed first.
    • Summerfield
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Weirsdale
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Eastlake Weir
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Candler
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Ocklawaha
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Belleview
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Silver Springs Shores
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Danks Corner
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Electra
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Electra is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Electra
    • Lynne
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Lynne is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynne
    • Silver Springs
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Ocala
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Ocala is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocala
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 61,669 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ocala <1>
    • Anthony
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
  • Citrus County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orange Blossom Hills, with the one closest to Orange Blossom Hills listed first.
    • Inverness
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Hernando
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Floral City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Inverness Highlands South
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Inverness Highlands North
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Holder
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Citrus Hills
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Citrus Hills is located in Citrus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Citrus Hills
    • Beverly Hills
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Citrus Springs
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Pine Ridge
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Pine Ridge is located in Citrus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Ridge
    • Black Diamond
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Black Diamond is located in Citrus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Diamond
    • Mannfield ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Mannfield is located in Citrus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mannfield
    • Lecanto
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Hernando County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orange Blossom Hills, with the one closest to Orange Blossom Hills listed first.
    • Istachatta
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Nobleton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Lake County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orange Blossom Hills, with the one closest to Orange Blossom Hills listed first.
    • Conant
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Conant is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conant
    • Lady Lake
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Carlton Village
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Carlton Village is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlton Village
    • Fruitland Park
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Whitney
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Whitney is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitney
    • Montclair
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Montclair is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montclair
    • Leesburg
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Lisbon
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Lisbon is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lisbon
    • Orange Bend
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Orange Bend is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange Bend
    • Silver Lake
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Silver Lake is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Lake
    • Sunnyside
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Sunnyside is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunnyside
    • Bassville Park
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Bassville Park is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bassville Park
    • Mid Florida Lakes
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Mid Florida Lakes is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mid Florida Lakes
  • Orange County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orange Blossom Hills, with the one closest to Orange Blossom Hills listed first.
    • Tangerine
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Zellwood
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Sumter County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orange Blossom Hills, with the one closest to Orange Blossom Hills listed first.
    • The Villages
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • The Villages is located in Sumter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Villages
    • Oxford
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Wildwood
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Orange Home
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Orange Home is located in Sumter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange Home
    • Adamsville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Adamsville is located in Sumter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adamsville
    • Coleman
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Lake Panasoffkee
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Sumterville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Bushnell
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Center Hill
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Bay Hill
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Bay Hill is located in Sumter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay Hill
    • Wahoo
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Wahoo is located in Sumter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wahoo
    • Webster
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)

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

Cemeteries Near Orange Blossom Hills ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Orange Blossom Hills.

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 Orange Blossom Hills - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Stanton Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Forest Hill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Mt. Olive Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Pine Level Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Crum Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Ocklawaha Community Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Lady Lake Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Simpson Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Mt. Pisgah Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Burrell Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Olivet Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (103 more) ...
    • Fisher Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Nichols Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Royal Memorial Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 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.<3>

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

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

  • Lake Weir ‑ Historic
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Lake Weir is located in Marion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Weir
  • Summerfield
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Oxford
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Conant
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Conant is located in Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conant
  • Stanton
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Stanton is located in Marion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanton
  • Ocklawaha
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Candler
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Belleview
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Lady Lake
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Royal
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Royal is located in Sumter County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal
  • Wildwood
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Moss Bluff
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Moss Bluff is located in Marion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moss Bluff
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Santos
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Santos is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santos
    • Fruitland Park
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Orange Home
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Orange Home is located in Sumter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange Home

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

Newspapers Published in Orange Blossom Hills ...

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 42 newspapers that have been published in the area around Orange Blossom Hills.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Orange Blossom Hills, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Orange Blossom Hills.

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 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 Orange Blossom Hills:

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 Orange Blossom Hills, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Orange Blossom Hills) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.