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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 Riverdale (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 Riverdale. 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 southwest 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 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.

Riverdale 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 Riverdale. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Riverdale:

  • Saint Johns County     (The home county of Riverdale)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riverdale, with the one closest to Riverdale listed first.
    • Tocoi
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Tocoi is located in Saint Johns County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tocoi
    • Elkton
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Hastings
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Armstrong
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Armstrong is located in Saint Johns County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armstrong
    • Saint Augustine Shores
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Saint Augustine Shores is located in Saint Johns County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Augustine Shores
    • Saint Augustine South
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Saint Augustine South is located in Saint Johns County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Augustine South
    • Saint Augustine
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Saint Augustine Beach
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Butler Beach
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Butler Beach is located in Saint Johns County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butler Beach
    • Vilano Beach
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Crescent Beach
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Fruit Cove
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Saint Johns
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
  • Alachua County
  • Clay County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riverdale, with the one closest to Riverdale listed first.
    • Green Cove Springs
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Penney Farms
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Asbury Lake
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Asbury Lake is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asbury Lake
    • Doctors Inlet
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Lakeside
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Lakeside is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeside
    • Orange Park
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Middleburg
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Bellair - Meadowbrook Terrace
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Lake Geneva
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Keystone Heights
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Kingsley
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Kingsley is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsley
    • Kingsley Lake
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Kingsley Lake is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsley Lake
    • Kingsley Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Kingsley Village is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsley Village
  • Duval County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riverdale, with the one closest to Riverdale listed first.
    • Mandarin
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Mandarin is located in Duval County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mandarin
    • Loretto
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Loretto is located in Duval County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loretto
    • Bowden
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Bowden is located in Duval County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowden
  • Flagler County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riverdale, with the one closest to Riverdale listed first.
    • Marineland
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Palm Coast
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Bunnell
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Putnam County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riverdale, with the one closest to Riverdale listed first.
    • Federal Point
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Federal Point is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Federal Point
    • Bostwick
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • East Palatka
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Palatka
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • San Mateo
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Peniel
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Peniel is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peniel
    • Buffalo Bluff
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Buffalo Bluff is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Bluff
    • Satsuma
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Hollister
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Florahome
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Nashua
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Nashua is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nashua
    • Pomona Park
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Grandin
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)

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

Cemeteries Near Riverdale ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Riverdale.

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

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

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

  • St. Pauls Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Bakersville Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Resthaven Cemetery & Memorial Park
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Putnam County Poor Farm Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Little Ruth Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Etonia Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Oak Hill Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • West View Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Yelvington Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • Barnes Memorial Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Craig Memorial Park
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craig Memorial Park
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Craig Memorial Park is a large cemetery that is located in Saint Augustine.
    • The Craig Memorial Park has also been known as:
    • St. Augustine Memorial Park
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #72556 <2>
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (61 more) ...
    • Woodlawn Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Hickory Grove Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • St. Joseph Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 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 Riverdale in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Riverdale.

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

  • Tocoi
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Tocoi is located in Saint Johns County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tocoi
  • Bridgeport
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Bridgeport is located in Putnam County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeport
  • Federal Point
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Federal Point is located in Putnam County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Federal Point
  • West Tocoi
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • West Tocoi is located in Clay County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Tocoi
  • Bostwick
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Picolata
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Picolata is located in Saint Johns County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Picolata
  • Armstrong
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Armstrong is located in Saint Johns County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armstrong
  • Teasdale
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Teasdale is located in Putnam County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teasdale
  • Orange Mills
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Orange Mills is located in Putnam County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange Mills
  • Walkill
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Walkill is located in Clay County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walkill
  • East Palatka
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Florence
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Florence is located in Saint Johns County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Palatka
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Yelvington
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Yelvington is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yelvington
    • Moultrie
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Moultrie is located in Saint Johns County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moultrie

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

Newspapers Published in Riverdale ...

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 28 newspapers that have been published in the area around Riverdale.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Riverdale, 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 Riverdale.

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 professional and volunteer 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 Riverdale:

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