RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Florida >> DeSoto County >> Platt >> 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 Platt (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 Platt. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and 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.

Platt is located in DeSoto 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 DeSoto County: Charlotte, Glades, Hardee, Highlands, Manatee & Sarasota.

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

  • DeSoto County     (The home county of Platt)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Platt, with the one closest to Platt listed first.
    • Fort Ogden
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Nocatee
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Arcadia
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Calvinia ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Calvinia is located in DeSoto County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calvinia
  • Charlotte County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Platt, with the one closest to Platt listed first.
    • Harbour Heights
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Harbour Heights is located in Charlotte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harbour Heights
    • Harbor View
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Harbor View is located in Charlotte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harbor View
    • Cleveland
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Cleveland is located in Charlotte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleveland
    • Port Charlotte
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Solana
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Solana is located in Charlotte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Solana
    • Charlotte Harbor
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Murdock
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Fishermens Village
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Fishermens Village is located in Charlotte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fishermens Village
    • Punta Gorda
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Charlotte Park
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Charlotte Park is located in Charlotte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlotte Park
    • El Jobean
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Rotonda West
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Grove City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
  • Hardee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Platt, with the one closest to Platt listed first.
    • Ona
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Zolfo Springs
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Lee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Platt, with the one closest to Platt listed first.
    • Burnt Store Marina
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Burnt Store Marina is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnt Store Marina
    • Slater
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Slater is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slater
    • Suncoast Estates
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Suncoast Estates is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suncoast Estates
    • Bokeelia
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Palmona Park
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Palmona Park is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmona Park
    • Samville ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Samville is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Samville
    • Boca Grande
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • North Fort Myers
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Fort Myers Shores
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Fort Myers Shores is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Myers Shores
    • Upcohall ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Upcohall is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upcohall
  • Manatee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Platt, with the one closest to Platt listed first.
    • Sandy
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Sandy is located in Manatee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy
    • Myakka City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Verna
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Verna is located in Manatee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verna
    • Waterbury
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Waterbury is located in Manatee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterbury
  • Sarasota County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Platt, with the one closest to Platt listed first.
    • North Port
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Warm Mineral Springs
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Plantation
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Plantation is located in Sarasota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plantation
    • Shiney Town
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Shiney Town is located in Sarasota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiney Town
    • Englewood
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Venice Gardens
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Venice Gardens is located in Sarasota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Venice Gardens
    • South Venice
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Laurel
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Nokomis
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Venice
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Venice is located in Sarasota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Venice
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 24,634 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Venice <1>
    • Lake Sarasota
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Lake Sarasota is located in Sarasota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Sarasota
    • Osprey
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)

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

Cemeteries Near Platt ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Platt.

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

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

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

  • Ft. Ogden Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Ogden Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Hull Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Owens Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Restlawn Memorial Gardens
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Cleveland Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Pine Level Campground Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Oak Ridge Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Joshua Creek Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Lamp Grounds Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Indian Springs Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
  • Royal Palm Memorial Gardens
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (11 more) ...
    • Sardis Cemetery
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Coker Cemetery
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Myakka Cemetery
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)

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

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

  • Fort Ogden
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Harbor View
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Harbor View is located in Charlotte County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harbor View
  • Nocatee
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Cleveland
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Cleveland is located in Charlotte County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleveland
  • Charlotte Harbor
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Punta Gorda
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Pine Level
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Pine Level is located in DeSoto County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Level
  • Arcadia
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Sandy
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Sandy is located in Manatee County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy
  • Calvinia ‑ Historic
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Calvinia is located in DeSoto County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calvinia
  • Grove City
    (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Platt ...

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 29 newspapers that have been published in the area around Platt.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Platt, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Platt.

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 Platt:

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 Platt, 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- Platt) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.