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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 Sylvan Lake (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 Sylvan Lake. 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.

Name Variations for Sylvan Lake ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Sylvan Lake: Sylvan Lk.

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Sylvan Lake. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Sylvan Lake.

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

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 doctors 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.

Sylvan Lake is located in Seminole 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 Seminole County: Lake, Orange & Volusia.

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

  • Seminole County     (The home county of Sylvan Lake)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sylvan Lake, with the one closest to Sylvan Lake listed first.
    • Heathrow
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Lake Monroe
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Lake Mary
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Sanford
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Longwood
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Midway
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Midway is located in Seminole County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
    • Sanlando Springs
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Sanlando Springs is located in Seminole County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sanlando Springs
    • Winter Springs
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Wekiwa Springs
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Wekiwa Springs is located in Seminole County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wekiwa Springs
    • Indian Mound Village
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Indian Mound Village is located in Seminole County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Mound Village
    • Casselberry
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Cameron City
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Cameron City is located in Seminole County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cameron City
    • Altamonte Springs
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Brevard County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sylvan Lake, with the one closest to Sylvan Lake listed first.
    • Aurantia
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Aurantia is located in Brevard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aurantia
    • Scottsmoor
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Turnbull
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Turnbull is located in Brevard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turnbull
  • Lake County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sylvan Lake, with the one closest to Sylvan Lake listed first.
    • Ethel
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Ethel is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ethel
    • Cassia
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Cassia is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cassia
    • Pine Lakes
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Pine Lakes is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Lakes
    • Mount Plymouth
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Mount Plymouth is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Plymouth
    • Sorrento
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Lake Mack - Forest Hills
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Lake Kathryn
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Lake Kathryn is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Kathryn
    • Acron ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Acron is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acron
    • Paisley
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Mount Dora
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Lake Jem
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Lake Jem is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Jem
    • Eustis
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Oakland Park
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Oakland Park is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland Park
  • Orange County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sylvan Lake, with the one closest to Sylvan Lake listed first.
    • Maitland
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Eatonville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Apopka
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Lockhart
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • South Apopka
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • South Apopka is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Apopka
    • Aloma
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Goldenrod
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Winter Park
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Plymouth
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Fairview Shores
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Fairview Shores is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview Shores
    • Fairvilla
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Clarcona
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Zellwood
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
  • Volusia County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sylvan Lake, with the one closest to Sylvan Lake listed first.
    • Fort Florida
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Fort Florida is located in Volusia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Florida
    • Valdez
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Valdez is located in Volusia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valdez
    • De Bary
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Enterprise
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Orange City Hills
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Orange City Hills is located in Volusia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange City Hills
    • Deltona
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Orange City
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Osteen
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Lemon Bluff
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Lemon Bluff is located in Volusia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lemon Bluff
    • Beresford
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Beresford is located in Volusia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beresford
    • Cassadaga
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Kalamazoo
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Kalamazoo is located in Volusia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kalamazoo
    • De Land Southwest
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • De Land Southwest is located in Volusia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Land Southwest

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

Cemeteries Near Sylvan Lake ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sylvan Lake.

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 Sylvan Lake - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Oaklawn Memorial Park
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Sanford Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Restlawn Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Longwood Memorial Gardens
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Enterprise Evergreen Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enterprise Evergreen Cemetery
    • The Enterprise Evergreen Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Enterprise Cemetery
    • Evergreen Cemetery
  • MB Church Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Highland Memory Gardens
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Memory Gardens
    • The Highland Memory Gardens has also been known as:
    • Highland Memorial Garden
    • Highland Memorial Gardens
  • Garfield Settlement Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Deltona Memorial Gardens
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Cassia Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Hollywood Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Lincoln Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (91 more) ...
    • Seminole Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Edgewood - Greenwood Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Greenwood Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 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 Sylvan Lake in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Sylvan Lake.

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

  • Ethel
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Ethel is located in Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ethel
  • Enterprise
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Cassia
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Cassia is located in Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cassia
  • Maitland
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Orange City
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Bay Ridge
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Bay Ridge is located in Orange County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay Ridge
  • Apopka
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Piedmont
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Piedmont is located in Orange County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piedmont
  • Eatonville
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Osteen
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Fatio
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Fatio is located in Volusia County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fatio
  • Sorrento
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Plymouth
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Winter Park
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Goldenrod
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)

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

Newspapers Published in Sylvan Lake ...

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 60 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sylvan Lake.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sylvan Lake, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Sylvan Lake.

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 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 Sylvan Lake:

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 Sylvan Lake, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Sylvan Lake) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.