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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 Shenks (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 Shenks. 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 southeast 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 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 east 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.

Shenks is located in Alachua 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 Alachua County: Bradford, Clay, Columbia, Gilchrist, Levy, Marion, Putnam & Union.

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

  • Alachua County     (The home county of Shenks)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shenks, with the one closest to Shenks listed first.
    • Waldo
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Earleton
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Campville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Campville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campville
      • Campville is located in Alachua County
    • Melrose
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Windsor
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Windsor. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsor
      • Windsor is located in Alachua County
    • Hawthorne
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Rochelle
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rochelle. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochelle
      • Rochelle is located in Alachua County
    • Gainesville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Hague
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hague
      • Hague is located in Alachua County
    • La Crosse
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Rutledge
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutledge
      • Rutledge is located in Alachua County
    • Lochloosa
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
  • Bradford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shenks, with the one closest to Shenks listed first.
    • Hampton
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Graham
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Starke
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Brooker
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Lawtey
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
  • Clay County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shenks, with the one closest to Shenks listed first.
    • Keystone Heights
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Lake Geneva
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Kingsley Lake
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsley Lake
      • Kingsley Lake is located in Clay County
    • Kingsley Village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kingsley Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsley Village
      • Kingsley Village is located in Clay County
    • Penney Farms
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Middleburg
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Asbury Lake
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Asbury Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asbury Lake
      • Asbury Lake is located in Clay County
  • Levy County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shenks, with the one closest to Shenks listed first.
    • Raleigh
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raleigh
      • Raleigh is located in Levy County
    • East Williston
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for East Williston. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Williston
      • East Williston is located in Levy County
  • Marion County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shenks, with the one closest to Shenks listed first.
    • Orange Springs
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • McIntosh
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Orange Lake
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Citra
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Paynes Town ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Paynes Town have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paynes Town
      • Paynes Town is located in Marion County
    • Irvine
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irvine
      • Irvine is located in Marion County
    • Reddick
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Fairfield
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fairfield have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield
      • Fairfield is located in Marion County
    • Heijahs Town ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Heijahs Town have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heijahs Town
      • Heijahs Town is located in Marion County
    • Fort McCoy
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Lowell
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Sparr
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • Putnam County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shenks, with the one closest to Shenks listed first.
    • Putnam Hall
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Grandin
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Florahome
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Edgar
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Interlachen
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Keuka
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Keuka. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keuka
      • Keuka is located in Putnam County
    • Hollister
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Palatka
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Peniel
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Peniel. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peniel
      • Peniel is located in Putnam County
    • Bostwick
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Buffalo Bluff
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Buffalo Bluff. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Bluff
      • Buffalo Bluff is located in Putnam County
  • Union County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shenks, with the one closest to Shenks listed first.
    • Worthington Springs
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Raiford
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Lake Butler
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Shenks ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Shenks.

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

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

  • Free Canaan Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Free Canaan Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Free Canaan Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Saluda Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Saluda Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Saluda Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • The Saluda Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Saluda - Orange Heights Cemetery
  • St. John's Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. John's Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. John's Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Laurel Grove Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Laurel Grove Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Laurel Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Waldo Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Waldo Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Waldo Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • The Waldo Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Waldo Community Cemetery
  • Nelson - Starke Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Nelson - Starke Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Nelson - Starke Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Eliam Cemetery of Melrose Florida
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Eliam Cemetery of Melrose Florida
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Eliam Cemetery of Melrose Florida have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Keystone Heights Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Keystone Heights Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Keystone Heights Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hope Baptist Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Fairbanks Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fairbanks Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fairbanks Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Providence Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Providence Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Providence Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. John Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. John Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. John Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (140 more) ...
    • Hampton Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Sparkman Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sparkman Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sparkman Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #72646 <4>
    • Santa Fe Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 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.<5>

While we didn't find Shenks in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Shenks.

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

  • Orange Heights
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Orange Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange Heights
    • Orange Heights is located in Alachua County
  • Earleton
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Waldo
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Campville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Campville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campville
    • Campville is located in Alachua County
  • Melrose
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Theressa
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Theressa have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Theressa
    • Theressa is located in Bradford County
  • Fairbanks
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fairbanks have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairbanks
    • Fairbanks is located in Alachua County
  • Hampton
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Windsor
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Windsor. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsor
    • Windsor is located in Alachua County
  • Putnam Hall
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Grove Park
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grove Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grove Park
    • Grove Park is located in Alachua County
  • Hawthorne
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Paradise
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Paradise have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise
      • Paradise is located in Alachua County
    • Rochelle
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rochelle. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochelle
      • Rochelle is located in Alachua County
    • Gainesville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Shenks ...

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 78 newspapers that have been published in the area around Shenks.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Shenks, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Shenks.

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 Shenks:

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

The official website for Alachua County: www.alachua-county.org/

The official website for State of Florida: https://www.myflorida.com/

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>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.
<3>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.
<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 Shenks, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Shenks) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Shenks. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 29.7622, Longitude: -82.1418       In this case, the coordinates for Shenks have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Mar 2025