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 Palm Valley (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 Palm Valley. 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.
Name Variations for Palm Valley ...
When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.
Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Palm Valley: Palm Vly. (or less commonly used: Palm Vally. or Palm Vlly.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Palm Valley. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Palm Valley.
If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.
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 northwest 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 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 west 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.
Palm Valley is located in Saint Johns 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 Saint Johns County: Clay, Duval, Flagler & Putnam.
Below are the counties that are near Palm Valley. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Palm Valley:
- Saint Johns County (The home county of Palm Valley)
- The following are listed by their distance from Palm Valley, with the one closest to Palm Valley listed first.
- Sawgrass
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Sawgrass is located in Saint Johns County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sawgrass
- Ponte Vedra
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Ponte Vedra is located in Saint Johns County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ponte Vedra
- Ponte Vedra Beach
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Fruit Cove
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Saint Johns
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Vilano Beach
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Saint Augustine
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Saint Augustine South
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Saint Augustine South is located in Saint Johns County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Augustine South
- Saint Augustine Beach
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Saint Augustine Shores
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Tocoi
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Tocoi is located in Saint Johns County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tocoi
- Butler Beach
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Butler Beach is located in Saint Johns County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butler Beach
- Elkton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Clay County
- The following are listed by their distance from Palm Valley, with the one closest to Palm Valley listed first.
- Orange Park
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Green Cove Springs
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Bellair - Meadowbrook Terrace
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Lakeside
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Lakeside is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeside
- Doctors Inlet
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Asbury Lake
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Asbury Lake is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asbury Lake
- Penney Farms
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Middleburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Duval County
- The following are listed by their distance from Palm Valley, with the one closest to Palm Valley listed first.
- Jacksonville Beach
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Jacksonville Beach is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacksonville Beach
- Population from the 2020 Census: 23,609 people
- Former names for Jacksonville Beach:
- Pablo Beach
- Ruby
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jacksonville Beach <1>
- San Pablo
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- San Pablo is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Pablo
- Neptune Beach
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Sans Pareil
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Sans Pareil is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sans Pareil
- Atlantic Beach
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Greenfield
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Greenfield is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield
- Loretto
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Loretto is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loretto
- Bowden
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Bowden is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowden
- Mayport
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Mayport is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayport
- Mandarin
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Mandarin is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mandarin
- Arlington
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Arlington is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington
- Saint Nicholas
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Nicholas is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Nicholas
- San Marco
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- San Marco is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Marco
- Nassau County
- Amelia City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Amelia City is located in Nassau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amelia City
- Putnam County
- Federal Point
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Federal Point is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Federal Point
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Palm Valley, see our County-by-County Page for Palm Valley.
Cemeteries Near Palm Valley ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Palm Valley.
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 Palm Valley - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Palm Valley covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Palm Valley, with the one closest to Palm Valley listed first.
- Ponte Vedra Valley Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Warren Smith Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Julington Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Julington Cemetery
- The Julington Cemetery has also been known as:
- Julington Baptist Church Cemetery
- Sampson Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Tillotson Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- St. Joseph Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Sloans Landing Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Pablo Mayport Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pablo Mayport Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Pablo Mayport Cemetery is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<3> to the south of Mayport.
- The Pablo Mayport Cemetery has also been known as:
- Mayport Cemetery
- Pablo Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #72234 <2>
- Rain Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Chapel Hill Memory Garden
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Lofton's Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Cosmo Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (59 more) ...
- Gilmore Cemetery
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Church of Our Savior Cemetery
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Mandarin Cemetery
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
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 Palm Valley in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Palm Valley.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Palm Valley, with the one closest to Palm Valley listed first.
- Bayard
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Bayard is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayard
- San Pablo
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- San Pablo is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Pablo
- Greenland
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Greenland is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenland
- Sampson
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Sampson is located in Saint Johns County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sampson
- Greenfield
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Greenfield is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield
- Bowden
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Bowden is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowden
- Beauclerc
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Beauclerc is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beauclerc
- Plummers
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Plummers is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plummers
- Fulton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Fulton is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fulton
- Spring Glen
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Spring Glen is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Glen
- Mandarin
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Mandarin is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mandarin
- Mayport
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Mayport is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayport
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Gilmore
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Gilmore is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilmore
- Arlington
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Arlington is located in Duval County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington
- Switzerland
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Switzerland is located in Saint Johns County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Switzerland
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Palm Valley. See our List of 1890's Communities around Palm Valley.
Newspapers Published in Palm Valley ...
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 5 newspapers that have been published in the area around Palm Valley.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Palm Valley, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Palm Valley.
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 Palm Valley:
- Websites specific to Florida
- Pages specific to Saint Johns County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Clay County
- Duval County
- Nassau County
- Putnam 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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Palm Valley) 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 Palm Valley, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |