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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 Ridge Wood Heights (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 Ridge Wood Heights. 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 Ridge Wood Heights ...

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 have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Ridge Wood Heights: Ridge Wood Hts. (in Canada, 'Hgts.' is the more common abbreviation.)

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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Ridge Wood Heights is located in Sarasota 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 Sarasota County: Charlotte, DeSoto & Manatee.

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

  • Sarasota County     (The home county of Ridge Wood Heights)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ridge Wood Heights, with the one closest to Ridge Wood Heights listed first.
    • South Gate Ridge
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Gate Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Gate Ridge
      • South Gate Ridge is located in Sarasota County
    • Southgate
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Southgate have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southgate
      • Southgate is located in Sarasota County
    • South Sarasota
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Sarasota have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Sarasota
      • South Sarasota is located in Sarasota County
    • Bee Ridge
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bee Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bee Ridge
      • Bee Ridge is located in Sarasota County
    • Pinecraft
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Sarasota Springs
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sarasota Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sarasota Springs
      • Sarasota Springs is located in Sarasota County
    • Gulf Gate Estates
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulf Gate Estates
      • Gulf Gate Estates is located in Sarasota County
    • Siesta Key
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Sarasota
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Lake Sarasota
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Sarasota have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Sarasota
      • Lake Sarasota is located in Sarasota County
    • Fruitville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Vamo
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vamo have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vamo
      • Vamo is located in Sarasota County
  • Charlotte County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ridge Wood Heights, with the one closest to Ridge Wood Heights listed first.
    • Manasota Key
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • El Jobean
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Grove City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Murdock
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Hillsborough County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ridge Wood Heights, with the one closest to Ridge Wood Heights listed first.
    • Fort Dade ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Fort Dade. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Dade
      • Fort Dade is located in Hillsborough County
    • Sun City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Park Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Park Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park Village
      • Park Village is located in Hillsborough County
    • Bayou Pass Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bayou Pass Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Pass Village
      • Bayou Pass Village is located in Hillsborough County
    • Gulf City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulf City
      • Gulf City is located in Hillsborough County
    • Manatee Harbor
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manatee Harbor
      • Manatee Harbor is located in Hillsborough County
    • Montero Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Montero Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montero Village
      • Montero Village is located in Hillsborough County
    • Ruskin
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Manatee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ridge Wood Heights, with the one closest to Ridge Wood Heights listed first.
    • Tallevast
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Longboat Key
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Whitfield
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Whitfield have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitfield
      • Whitfield is located in Manatee County
    • Lakewood Ranch
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Bayshore Gardens
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bayshore Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayshore Gardens
      • Bayshore Gardens is located in Manatee County
    • Oneco
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Samoset
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Samoset have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Samoset
      • Samoset is located in Manatee County
    • South Bradenton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Bradenton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Bradenton
      • South Bradenton is located in Manatee County
    • West Samoset
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Samoset have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Samoset
      • West Samoset is located in Manatee County
    • Bradenton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Whitney Beach
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Bradenton Beach
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Pinellas County

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

Cemeteries Near Ridge Wood Heights ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ridge Wood Heights.

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 Ridge Wood Heights covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Sarasota Memorial Park
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sarasota Memorial Park
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sarasota Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Woodlawn Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Palms Memorial Park Gardens
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Palms Memorial Park Gardens
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Palms Memorial Park Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Palms Memorial Park
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Palms Memorial Park
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Palms Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Galilee Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Sarasota National Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Bethel Mennonite Church Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Manatee Memorial Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Braden River Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Braden River Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Braden River Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Major Adams Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • Venice Memorial Gardens
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Venice Memorial Gardens
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Venice Memorial Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Adams & Rogers Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Fogartyville Cemetery
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Myakka Cemetery
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Myakka Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Myakka Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Skyway Memorial Gardens
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Skyway Memorial Gardens
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Skyway Memorial Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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

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

  • Bradenton
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • Manatee
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Manatee have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manatee
    • Manatee is located in Manatee County
  • Palmetto
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
  • Ellenton
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
  • Palma Sola
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Rye
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rye have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rye
    • Rye is located in Manatee County
  • Erie
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Erie have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erie
    • Erie is located in Manatee County
  • Terra Ceia
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
  • Sandy
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy
    • Sandy is located in Manatee County
  • Grove City
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Gulf City
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulf City
    • Gulf City is located in Hillsborough County

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

Newspapers Published in Ridge Wood Heights ...

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 24 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ridge Wood Heights.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ridge Wood Heights, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Ridge Wood Heights.

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 helpful 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 Ridge Wood Heights:

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

The official website for Sarasota County: www.co.sarasota.fl.us/

The official website for State of Florida: https://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>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<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 Ridge Wood Heights, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Ridge Wood Heights) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ridge Wood Heights. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 27.2873, Longitude: -82.5132       In this case, the coordinates for Ridge Wood Heights have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Mar 2025