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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 Sanibel (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 Sanibel. 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 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.

Sanibel is located in Lee 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 Lee County: Charlotte, Collier, Glades & Hendry.

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

  • Lee County     (The home county of Sanibel)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sanibel, with the one closest to Sanibel listed first.
    • Punta Rassa
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Punta Rassa have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Punta Rassa
      • Punta Rassa is located in Lee County
    • Saint James City
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Fort Myers Beach
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Shell Point Village
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shell Point Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shell Point Village
      • Shell Point Village is located in Lee County
    • Truckland ‑ Historic
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Truckland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Truckland
      • Truckland is located in Lee County
    • Iona
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Iona have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iona
      • Iona is located in Lee County
    • Harlem Heights
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlem Heights
      • Harlem Heights is located in Lee County
    • Cape Coral
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Flamingo Bay
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Flamingo Bay have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flamingo Bay
      • Flamingo Bay is located in Lee County
    • Forest Island Park
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Forest Island Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Island Park
      • Forest Island Park is located in Lee County
    • Biggar
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Cypress Lake
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cypress Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cypress Lake
      • Cypress Lake is located in Lee County
    • McGregor
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McGregor have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGregor
      • McGregor is located in Lee County
  • Charlotte County
  • Collier County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sanibel, with the one closest to Sanibel listed first.
    • Barefoot Beach
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barefoot Beach
      • Barefoot Beach is located in Collier County
    • Naples Park
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Vanderbilt Beach
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Pelican Bay
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • North Naples
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Naples have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Naples
      • North Naples is located in Collier County
    • Pine Ridge
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pine Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Ridge
      • Pine Ridge is located in Collier County
    • Naples
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Vineyards
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vineyards have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vineyards
      • Vineyards is located in Collier County
    • East Naples
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Naples have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Naples
      • East Naples is located in Collier County
    • Golden Gate
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Orangetree
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Orangetree have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orangetree
      • Orangetree is located in Collier County
    • Lely
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lely
      • Lely is located in Collier County

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

Newspapers Published in Sanibel ...

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 36 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sanibel.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sanibel, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Sanibel.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 Sanibel:

Cemeteries Near Sanibel ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sanibel.

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 Sanibel covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Sanibel Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Captiva Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Captiva Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<5>
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Captiva Cemetery is located in Captiva.
    • The Captiva Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Chapel by the Sea Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Captiva Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1961480 <4>
  • Koreshan Cemetery #2
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Coral Ridge Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Johnson Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Ft. Myers Memorial Gardens
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Frierson - Hendry Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Hendry Frierson Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hendry Frierson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hendry Frierson Cemetery
  • Oak Ridge Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Woodlawn Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Calvary Gardens
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Ft. Myers Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (11 more) ...
    • Coral Ridge Gardens
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Coral Ridge Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Coral Ridge Gardens
    • Crest Lawn Cemetery
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Crest Lawn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Crest Lawn Cemetery
    • Naples Memorial Gardens
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)

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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Sanibel had a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Sanibel had a population of 7,429 people.

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

  • Punta Rassa
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Punta Rassa have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Punta Rassa
    • Punta Rassa is located in Lee County
  • Saint James City
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Buckingham
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckingham
    • Buckingham is located in Lee County
  • Naples
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)

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

The official website for Sanibel: www.mysanibel.com/

The official website for Lee County: www.lee-county.com/

The official website for State of Florida: 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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Sanibel) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Sanibel. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 26.4491, Longitude: -82.0322    
<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>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.
<6>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 Sanibel, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024