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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 Taft (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 Taft. 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 and doctors 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.

Taft is located in Orange 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 Orange County: Brevard, Lake, Osceola, Polk & Seminole.

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

  • Orange County     (The home county of Taft)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Taft, with the one closest to Taft listed first.
    • Sky Lake
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sky Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sky Lake
      • Sky Lake is located in Orange County
    • Meadow Woods
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Meadow Woods have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Woods
      • Meadow Woods is located in Orange County
    • Southchase
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Southchase have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southchase
      • Southchase is located in Orange County
    • Belle Isle
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Belle Isle have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Isle
      • Belle Isle is located in Orange County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,294 people
    • Edgewood
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Pine Castle
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Holden Heights
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holden Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holden Heights
      • Holden Heights is located in Orange County
    • Oak Ridge
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oak Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Ridge
      • Oak Ridge is located in Orange County
    • Williamsburg
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Williamsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsburg
      • Williamsburg is located in Orange County
    • Conway
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Conway have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conway
      • Conway is located in Orange County
    • Hunters Creek
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hunters Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunters Creek
      • Hunters Creek is located in Orange County
    • Tangelo Park
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tangelo Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tangelo Park
      • Tangelo Park is located in Orange County
    • Sand Lake
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Lake County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Taft, with the one closest to Taft listed first.
    • Four Corners
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Montverde
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Waits Junction
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Waits Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waits Junction
      • Waits Junction is located in Lake County
    • Ferndale
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Minneola
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Clermont
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Mount Plymouth
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Plymouth have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Plymouth
      • Mount Plymouth is located in Lake County
    • Lake Jem
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Jem
      • Lake Jem is located in Lake County
    • Sorrento
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Astatula
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Osceola County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Taft, with the one closest to Taft listed first.
    • Buena Ventura Lakes
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Kissimmee
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Runnymede
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Runnymede have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Runnymede
      • Runnymede is located in Osceola County
    • Celebration
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Saint Cloud
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Campbell
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Campbell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbell
      • Campbell is located in Osceola County
    • Intercession City
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Reunion
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Poinciana
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • ChampionsGate
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for ChampionsGate
      • ChampionsGate is located in Osceola County
    • Poinciana Place
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Poinciana Place have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poinciana Place
      • Poinciana Place is located in Osceola County
  • Polk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Taft, with the one closest to Taft listed first.
    • Loughman
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Davenport
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Haines City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Lake Hammock Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Hammock Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Hammock Village
      • Lake Hammock Village is located in Polk County
    • Lake Hamilton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Seminole County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Taft, with the one closest to Taft listed first.
    • Fern Park
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Altamonte Springs
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Casselberry
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Forest City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Forest City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest City
      • Forest City is located in Seminole County
    • Sanlando Springs
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sanlando Springs
      • Sanlando Springs is located in Seminole County
    • Winter Springs
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Longwood
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Wekiwa Springs
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wekiwa Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wekiwa Springs
      • Wekiwa Springs is located in Seminole County
    • Oviedo
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oviedo
      • Oviedo is located in Seminole County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 41,652 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oviedo <2>
    • Chuluota
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Lake Mary
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Iowa City
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Iowa City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iowa City
      • Iowa City is located in Seminole County
    • Heathrow
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
  • Volusia County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Taft, with the one closest to Taft listed first.
    • Valdez
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valdez
      • Valdez is located in Volusia County
    • Lemon Bluff
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lemon Bluff
      • Lemon Bluff is located in Volusia County
    • Fort Florida
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Florida
      • Fort Florida is located in Volusia County

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

Newspapers Published in Taft ...

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 84 newspapers that have been published in the area around Taft.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Taft, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Taft.

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 Taft:

Cemeteries Near Taft ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Taft.

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

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

  • Taft Memorial Gardens
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Taft Memorial Gardens is a large cemetery that is located in Taft.
    • The Taft Memorial Gardens has also been known as:
    • Taft Memorial Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Taft Memorial Gardens
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1217063 <4>
  • Oak Ridge Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oak Ridge Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oak Ridge Cemetery
  • Lock Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lock Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lock Cemetery
  • Howard Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Howard Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Howard Cemetery
  • Barber Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Barber Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Barber Cemetery
  • East Lake Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Doctor Phillips Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Doctor Phillips Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Doctor Phillips Cemetery
  • Washington Park Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Washington Park Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Washington Park Cemetery
  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Rose Hill Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Rose Hill Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Kissimmee.
    • The Rose Hill Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Rosehill Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rose Hill Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #72538 <4>
  • Osceola Memory Gardens
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Woodlawn Memorial Park
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Woodlawn Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Woodlawn Memorial Park
  • Continue List   (49 more) ...
    • Doctor Phillips Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Doctor Phillips Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Doctor Phillips Cemetery
    • Pinewood Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pinewood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pinewood Cemetery
    • Chapel Hill Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Chapel Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Chapel Hill Cemetery

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 Taft in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Taft.

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

  • Pine Castle
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Conway
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Conway have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conway
    • Conway is located in Orange County
  • Orlando
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Kissimmee
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Narcoossee
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Narcoossee have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Narcoossee
    • Narcoossee is located in Osceola County
  • Winter Park
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Gotha
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Windermere
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Runnymede
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Runnymede have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Runnymede
    • Runnymede is located in Osceola County
  • Saint Cloud
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • Goldenrod
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Maitland
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Eatonville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Minorville ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Minorville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minorville
      • Minorville is located in Orange County
    • Ocoee
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocoee
      • Ocoee is located in Orange County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 49,168 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ocoee <2>

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

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

The official website for Orange County: www.orangecountyfl.net/

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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Taft) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Taft. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 28.4287, Longitude: -81.3636    
<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 Taft, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024