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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 Utopia (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 Utopia. 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 northeast 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 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 east 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.

Utopia is located in Sarasota 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 Sarasota County: Charlotte, DeSoto & Manatee.

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

  • Sarasota County     (The home county of Utopia)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Utopia, with the one closest to Utopia listed first.
    • Lake Sarasota
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Lake Sarasota is located in Sarasota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Sarasota
    • Fruitville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Shiney Town
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Shiney Town is located in Sarasota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiney Town
    • Bee Ridge
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Bee Ridge is located in Sarasota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bee Ridge
    • Sarasota Springs
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Sarasota Springs is located in Sarasota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sarasota Springs
    • The Meadows
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • The Meadows is located in Sarasota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Meadows
    • Pinecraft
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • South Gate Ridge
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • South Gate Ridge is located in Sarasota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Gate Ridge
    • Desoto Lakes
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Desoto Lakes is located in Sarasota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Desoto Lakes
    • Kensington Park
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Kensington Park is located in Sarasota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kensington Park
    • Gulf Gate Estates
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Gulf Gate Estates is located in Sarasota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulf Gate Estates
    • Ridge Wood Heights
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Ridge Wood Heights is located in Sarasota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridge Wood Heights
  • Charlotte County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Utopia, with the one closest to Utopia listed first.
    • Murdock
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • El Jobean
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Manasota Key
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Grove City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Rotonda West
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Port Charlotte
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Charlotte Harbor
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Harbor View
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Harbor View is located in Charlotte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harbor View
    • Cape Haze
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Fishermens Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Fishermens Village is located in Charlotte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fishermens Village
    • Harbour Heights
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Harbour Heights is located in Charlotte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harbour Heights
  • DeSoto County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Utopia, with the one closest to Utopia listed first.
    • Fort Ogden
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Nocatee
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Hardee County
  • Hillsborough County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Utopia, with the one closest to Utopia listed first.
    • Sun City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Bayou Pass Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Bayou Pass Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Pass Village
    • Park Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Park Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park Village
    • Freedom Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Freedom Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freedom Village
    • Gulf City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Gulf City is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulf City
    • Manatee Harbor
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Manatee Harbor is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manatee Harbor
    • Montero Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Montero Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montero Village
    • Sun City Center
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Wimauma
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Cypress Creek Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Cypress Creek Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cypress Creek Village
    • Ruskin
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Manatee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Utopia, with the one closest to Utopia listed first.
    • Verna
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Verna is located in Manatee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verna
    • Lakewood Ranch
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Waterbury
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Waterbury is located in Manatee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterbury
    • Myakka City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Tallevast
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Sandy
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Sandy is located in Manatee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy
    • Oneco
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Whitfield
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Whitfield is located in Manatee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitfield
    • Bayshore Gardens
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Bayshore Gardens is located in Manatee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayshore Gardens
    • Samoset
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Samoset is located in Manatee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Samoset
    • West Samoset
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • West Samoset is located in Manatee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Samoset
    • Longboat Key
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)

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

Cemeteries Near Utopia ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Utopia.

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

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

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

  • Sarasota National Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Bethel Mennonite Church Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Myakka Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Palms Memorial Park Gardens
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Palms Memorial Park
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Sardis Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Sarasota Memorial Park
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Galilee Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Woodlawn Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Braden River Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Venice Memorial Gardens
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
  • Manatee Memorial Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (21 more) ...
    • Major Adams Cemetery
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Gulf Pines Memorial Park
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Mansion Memorial Park
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)

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

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

  • Rye
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Rye is located in Manatee County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rye
  • Sandy
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Sandy is located in Manatee County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy
  • Manatee
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Manatee is located in Manatee County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manatee
  • Ellenton
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
  • Bradenton
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
  • Erie
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Erie is located in Manatee County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erie
  • Palmetto
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Pine Level
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Pine Level is located in DeSoto County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Level
  • Palma Sola
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • Terra Ceia
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Grove City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Fort Ogden
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Gulf City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Gulf City is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulf City
    • Charlotte Harbor
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Harbor View
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Harbor View is located in Charlotte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harbor View

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

Newspapers Published in Utopia ...

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 20 newspapers that have been published in the area around Utopia.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Utopia, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Utopia.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Utopia:

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 Utopia, 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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Utopia) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.