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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 Seneca (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 Seneca. 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 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 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.

Seneca is located in Lake 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 Lake County: Marion, Orange, Osceola, Polk, Seminole, Sumter & Volusia.

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

  • Lake County     (The home county of Seneca)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Seneca, with the one closest to Seneca listed first.
    • Sorrento
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Mount Dora
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Mount Plymouth
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Mount Plymouth is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Plymouth
    • Eustis
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Lakeview Terrace Retirement Village
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Umatilla
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Oakland Park
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Oakland Park is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland Park
    • Altoona
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Grand Island
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Cassia
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Cassia is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cassia
    • Paisley
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Lake Jem
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Lake Jem is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Jem
    • Mid Florida Lakes
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Mid Florida Lakes is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mid Florida Lakes
  • Marion County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Seneca, with the one closest to Seneca listed first.
    • Eastlake Weir
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Weirsdale
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Ocklawaha
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Electra
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Electra is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Electra
    • Candler
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Summerfield
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Lynne
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Lynne is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynne
    • Belleview
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Silver Springs Shores
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Orange County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Seneca, with the one closest to Seneca listed first.
    • Tangerine
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Zellwood
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Apopka
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Plymouth
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • South Apopka
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • South Apopka is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Apopka
    • Paradise Heights
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Paradise Heights is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise Heights
    • Clarcona
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Crown Point
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Crown Point is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crown Point
    • Lockhart
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Ocoee
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Ocoee is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocoee
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 49,168 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ocoee <1>
    • Winter Garden
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Eatonville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Maitland
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Seminole County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Seneca, with the one closest to Seneca listed first.
    • Heathrow
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Wekiwa Springs
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Wekiwa Springs is located in Seminole County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wekiwa Springs
    • Forest City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Forest City is located in Seminole County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest City
    • Lake Monroe
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Lake Mary
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Sanlando Springs
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Sanlando Springs is located in Seminole County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sanlando Springs
    • Altamonte Springs
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Longwood
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Sanford
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Casselberry
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Fern Park
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Winter Springs
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Indian Mound Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Indian Mound Village is located in Seminole County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Mound Village
  • Sumter County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Seneca, with the one closest to Seneca listed first.
    • The Villages
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • The Villages is located in Sumter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Villages
    • Orange Home
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Orange Home is located in Sumter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange Home
    • Adamsville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Adamsville is located in Sumter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adamsville
    • Oxford
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Wildwood
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Center Hill
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Coleman
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Sumterville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Mabel
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Mabel is located in Sumter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mabel
  • Volusia County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Seneca, with the one closest to Seneca listed first.
    • Fort Florida
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Fort Florida is located in Volusia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Florida
    • De Bary
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Valdez
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Valdez is located in Volusia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valdez
    • Orange City Hills
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Orange City Hills is located in Volusia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange City Hills
    • Beresford
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Beresford is located in Volusia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beresford
    • Orange City
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Highland Park ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Highland Park is located in Volusia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Park
    • West De Land
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • West De Land is located in Volusia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West De Land
    • Deltona
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • De Land Southwest
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • De Land Southwest is located in Volusia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Land Southwest
    • Enterprise
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • De Land
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Glenwood
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Seneca ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Seneca.

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

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

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

  • Seneca Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Pine Forest Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Seminole Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Sorrento Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Lakeside Memory Gardens
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Glendale Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Umatilla Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Marsh Memorial Park
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Tangerine Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Ponceannah Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Grand Island Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (109 more) ...
    • Bay Ridge Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Altoona Hinson Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Cassia Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)

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 Seneca had a population of 402 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Mount Dora
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Sorrento
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Eustis
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Umatilla
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Fort Mason
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Fort Mason is located in Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Mason
  • Tangerine
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Bay Ridge
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Bay Ridge is located in Orange County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay Ridge
  • Altoona
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Grand Island
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Cassia
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Cassia is located in Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cassia
  • Tavares
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Pittman
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Pittman is located in Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittman
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Zellwood
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Paisley
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Ellsworth Junction
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Ellsworth Junction is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellsworth Junction

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

Newspapers Published in Seneca ...

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 41 newspapers that have been published in the area around Seneca.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Seneca, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Seneca.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Seneca:

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 Seneca, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Seneca) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.