RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Florida >> Polk County >> Pembroke >> 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 Pembroke (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 Pembroke. 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.

Pembroke is located in Polk 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 Polk County: Hardee, Highlands, Hillsborough, Lake, Manatee, Orange, Osceola, Pasco & Sumter.

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

  • Polk County     (The home county of Pembroke)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pembroke, with the one closest to Pembroke listed first.
    • Oponys Town ‑ Historic
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Oponys Town is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oponys Town
    • Homeland
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Fort Meade
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Cox Corner ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Cox Corner is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cox Corner
    • Bartow
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Lake Garfield
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Lake Garfield is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Garfield
    • Roux Quarters ‑ Historic
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Roux Quarters is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roux Quarters
    • Connersville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Connersville is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Connersville
    • Alturas
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Armour ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Armour is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armour
    • Lyle Corner
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Lyle Corner is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyle Corner
    • Bradley Junction
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Bradley Junction is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradley Junction
  • DeSoto County
    • Calvinia ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Calvinia is located in DeSoto County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calvinia
  • Hardee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pembroke, with the one closest to Pembroke listed first.
    • Bowling Green
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Wauchula
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Zolfo Springs
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Ona
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Crewsville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Crewsville is located in Hardee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crewsville
  • Highlands County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pembroke, with the one closest to Pembroke listed first.
    • Alpine
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Alpine is located in Highlands County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alpine
    • Avon Park
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Sebring
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Hillsborough County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pembroke, with the one closest to Pembroke listed first.
    • Welcome
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Welcome is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welcome
    • South Plant City Farms
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • South Plant City Farms is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Plant City Farms
    • Lithia
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Pinecrest
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Parrish
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Parrish is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parrish
    • Kings Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Kings Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Village
    • Colonial Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Colonial Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colonial Village
    • West Plant City Farms
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • West Plant City Farms is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Plant City Farms
    • West Plant City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • West Plant City is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Plant City
    • Woodfield Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Woodfield Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodfield Village
    • Durant
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Boyette
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Boyette is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyette
  • Manatee County

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

Cemeteries Near Pembroke ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Pembroke.

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

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

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

  • Hancock Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Homeland Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Ft. Meade Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Pleasant Grove Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Crum - Durrance Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crum - Durrance Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Crum - Durrance Cemetery is located outside and to the west of Homeland.
    • The Crum - Durrance Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Crum Cemetery
    • Durrance Cemetery
    • Homeland Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2198368 <3>
  • New Hope Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hope Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the New Hope Cemetery is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<2> to the southwest of Fort Meade.
    • The New Hope Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
    • New Hope Methodist Episcopal Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #72336 <3>
  • Shady Oaks Gardens
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Fortner Family Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Old Elim Church Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Watson Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Lake Buffum Baptist Church Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (79 more) ...

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

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

  • Fort Meade
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Homeland
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Bartow
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Bowling Green
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Gordonville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Gordonville is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordonville
  • Wahneta
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Wahneta is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wahneta
  • Eagle Lake
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Wauchula
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
  • Winter Haven
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
  • Keysville
    (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Keysville is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keysville
  • Auburndale
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
  • Zolfo Springs
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (10 more) ...
    • Lakeland
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Avon Park
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Haines City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Pembroke ...

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 62 newspapers that have been published in the area around Pembroke.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Pembroke, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Pembroke.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 Pembroke:

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Pembroke) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.
<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 Pembroke, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.