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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 Thomas Oaks (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 Thomas Oaks. 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 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.

Thomas Oaks is located in Hillsborough 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 Hillsborough County: Hardee, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas & Polk.

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

  • Hillsborough County     (The home county of Thomas Oaks)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thomas Oaks, with the one closest to Thomas Oaks listed first.
    • South Plant City Farms
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • South Plant City Farms is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Plant City Farms
    • Kings Village
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Kings Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Village
    • Colonial Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Colonial Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colonial Village
    • Plant City
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • West Plant City
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • West Plant City is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Plant City
    • Woodfield Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Woodfield Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodfield Village
    • Cedar Run
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Cedar Run is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Run
    • Plant City Heights
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Plant City Heights is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plant City Heights
    • Strawberry Village
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Strawberry Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strawberry Village
    • Parrish
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Parrish is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parrish
    • West Plant City Farms
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • West Plant City Farms is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Plant City Farms
    • Knights
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Knights is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knights
  • Hardee County
    • Bowling Green
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Manatee County
  • Pasco County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thomas Oaks, with the one closest to Thomas Oaks listed first.
    • Crystal Springs
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Crystal Springs is located in Pasco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Springs
    • Zephyrhills
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Richland
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Richland is located in Pasco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richland
    • Wesley Chapel South
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Wesley Chapel South is located in Pasco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wesley Chapel South
    • Wesley Chapel
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Dade City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Saint Leo
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • San Antonio
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • San Antonio is located in Pasco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Antonio
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,506 people
      • Former name for San Antonio:
      • Lake Jovita
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for San Antonio <1>
    • Land O' Lakes
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Polk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thomas Oaks, with the one closest to Thomas Oaks listed first.
    • Winston
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Winston is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winston
    • Medulla
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Medulla is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medulla
    • Willow Oak
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Willow Oak is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Oak
    • Lakeland Highlands
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Lakeland Highlands is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeland Highlands
    • Nichols
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Lakeland
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Mulberry
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Acton ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Acton is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acton
    • Crystal Lake
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Crystal Lake is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Lake
    • Eaton Park
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Kathleen
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Combee Settlement
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Combee Settlement is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Combee Settlement

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

Cemeteries Near Thomas Oaks ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Thomas Oaks.

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 Thomas Oaks - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Springhead Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Willow Oak Baptist Church Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Hopewell Memorial Gardens
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Medulla Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • New Home Baptist Church Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Garden of Peace Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Memorial Park
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Oaklawn Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Prairie Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Cemetery
    • The Prairie Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Bone Valley Cemetery
    • Fuller Heights Cemetery
    • Laurel Hill Cemetery
    • Shiloh Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #72484 <2>
  • Fitzgerald Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Stephenson Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Memorial Park
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (119 more) ...
    • Little Alafia Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Blue Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Lakeland Memorial Gardens
      (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>

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

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

  • Plant City
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Lakeland
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Keysville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Keysville is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keysville
  • Knights
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Knights is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knights
  • Kathleen
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Keene
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Keene is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keene
  • Sydney
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Valrico
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Bloomingdale
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Bloomingdale is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomingdale
  • Seffner
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Brandon
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
  • Bartow
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Gordonville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Gordonville is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordonville
    • Thonotosassa
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Mango
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)

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

Newspapers Published in Thomas Oaks ...

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 8 newspapers that have been published in the area around Thomas Oaks.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Thomas Oaks, there are papers which were published within 4 miles [6.4 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Thomas Oaks.

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 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 Thomas Oaks:

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 Thomas Oaks, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Thomas Oaks) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.