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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 Royal (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 Royal. 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 hospitals and doctors 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.

Royal is located in Sumter 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 Sumter County: Citrus, Hernando, Lake, Marion, Pasco & Polk.

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

  • Sumter County     (The home county of Royal)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Royal, with the one closest to Royal listed first.
    • Oxford
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Wildwood
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Coleman
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Lake Panasoffkee
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Orange Home
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Orange Home is located in Sumter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange Home
    • The Villages
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • The Villages is located in Sumter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Villages
    • Adamsville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Adamsville is located in Sumter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adamsville
    • Sumterville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Bushnell
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Bay Hill
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Bay Hill is located in Sumter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay Hill
    • Wahoo
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Wahoo is located in Sumter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wahoo
    • Center Hill
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
  • Citrus County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Royal, with the one closest to Royal listed first.
    • Inverness
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Floral City
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Inverness Highlands South
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Hernando
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Inverness Highlands North
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Citrus Hills
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Citrus Hills is located in Citrus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Citrus Hills
    • Holder
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Beverly Hills
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Mannfield ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Mannfield is located in Citrus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mannfield
    • Black Diamond
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Black Diamond is located in Citrus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Diamond
    • Citrus Springs
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Lecanto
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
  • Hernando County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Royal, with the one closest to Royal listed first.
    • Istachatta
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Nobleton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Lake Lindsey
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Lake Lindsey is located in Hernando County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Lindsey
    • Richloam ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Richloam is located in Hernando County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richloam
    • Ridge Manor
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Ringgold ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Ringgold is located in Hernando County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ringgold
    • Hill 'n Dale
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Hill 'n Dale is located in Hernando County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hill 'n Dale
    • Brooksville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • North Brooksville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • North Brooksville is located in Hernando County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Brooksville
    • Spring Lake
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Spring Lake is located in Hernando County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Lake
  • Lake County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Royal, with the one closest to Royal listed first.
    • Conant
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Conant is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conant
    • Lady Lake
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Whitney
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Whitney is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitney
    • Fruitland Park
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Montclair
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Montclair is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montclair
    • Carlton Village
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Carlton Village is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlton Village
    • Leesburg
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Okahumpka
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Orange Bend
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Orange Bend is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange Bend
    • Sunnyside
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Sunnyside is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunnyside
    • Lisbon
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Lisbon is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lisbon
    • Silver Lake
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Silver Lake is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Lake
  • Marion County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Royal, with the one closest to Royal listed first.
    • Danks Corner
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Summerfield
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Belleview
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Weirsdale
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Candler
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Eastlake Weir
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Ocklawaha
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Silver Springs Shores
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Ocala
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Ocala is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocala
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 61,669 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ocala <1>
    • Electra
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Electra is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Electra
    • York
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • York is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for York
    • Silver Springs
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
  • Orange County
  • Pasco County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Royal, with the one closest to Royal listed first.
    • Lacoochee
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Moss Town
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Moss Town is located in Pasco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moss Town
    • Trilby
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)

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

Cemeteries Near Royal ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Royal.

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

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

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

  • Royal Memorial Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Nichols Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Pine Level Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Crum Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Rutland Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Sumterville Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Stanton Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Mt. Olive Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Mt. Pisgah Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Lady Lake Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Forest Hill Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Shiloh Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (105 more) ...
    • Evergreen Memorial Gardens Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Lone Oak Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Olivet Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Royal had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Wildwood
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Oxford
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Coleman
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Rutland
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Rutland is located in Sumter County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutland
  • Carlson
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Carlson is located in Sumter County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlson
  • Orange Home
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Orange Home is located in Sumter County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange Home
  • Summerfield
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Bamboo
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Bamboo is located in Sumter County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bamboo
  • Sumterville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Whitney
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Whitney is located in Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitney
  • Lady Lake
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Conant
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Conant is located in Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conant
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Lake Weir ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Lake Weir is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Weir
    • Montclair
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Montclair is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montclair
    • Fruitland Park
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)

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

Newspapers Published in Royal ...

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 43 newspapers that have been published in the area around Royal.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Royal, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Royal.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with 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 Royal:

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 Royal, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Royal) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.