RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Florida >> Sarasota County >> Utopia >> Genealogy HelperIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
Florida

The Commemorative Quarter for Florida





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 doctors 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 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)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Sarasota have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Sarasota
      • Lake Sarasota is located in Sarasota County
    • Fruitville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Shiney Town
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shiney Town have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiney Town
      • Shiney Town is located in Sarasota County
    • Bee Ridge
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bee Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bee Ridge
      • Bee Ridge is located in Sarasota County
    • Sarasota Springs
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sarasota Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sarasota Springs
      • Sarasota Springs is located in Sarasota County
    • The Meadows
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for The Meadows have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Meadows
      • The Meadows is located in Sarasota County
    • Pinecraft
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • South Gate Ridge
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Gate Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Gate Ridge
      • South Gate Ridge is located in Sarasota County
    • Desoto Lakes
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Desoto Lakes have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Desoto Lakes
      • Desoto Lakes is located in Sarasota County
    • Kensington Park
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kensington Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kensington Park
      • Kensington Park is located in Sarasota County
    • Gulf Gate Estates
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulf Gate Estates
      • Gulf Gate Estates is located in Sarasota County
    • Ridge Wood Heights
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ridge Wood Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridge Wood Heights
      • Ridge Wood Heights is located in Sarasota County
    • Southgate
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Southgate have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southgate
      • Southgate is located in Sarasota County
  • 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)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harbor View
      • Harbor View is located in Charlotte County
    • Cape Haze
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Fishermens Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fishermens Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fishermens Village
      • Fishermens Village is located in Charlotte County
    • Harbour Heights
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harbour Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harbour Heights
      • Harbour Heights is located in Charlotte County
  • 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)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bayou Pass Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Pass Village
      • Bayou Pass Village is located in Hillsborough County
    • Park Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Park Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park Village
      • Park Village is located in Hillsborough County
    • Freedom Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Freedom Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freedom Village
      • Freedom Village is located in Hillsborough County
    • Gulf City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulf City
      • Gulf City is located in Hillsborough County
    • Manatee Harbor
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manatee Harbor
      • Manatee Harbor is located in Hillsborough County
    • Montero Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Montero Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montero Village
      • Montero Village is located in Hillsborough County
    • 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)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cypress Creek Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cypress Creek Village
      • Cypress Creek Village is located in Hillsborough County
    • 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)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verna
      • Verna is located in Manatee County
    • Lakewood Ranch
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Waterbury
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterbury
      • Waterbury is located in Manatee County
    • 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)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy
      • Sandy is located in Manatee County
    • Oneco
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Whitfield
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Whitfield have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitfield
      • Whitfield is located in Manatee County
    • Bayshore Gardens
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bayshore Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayshore Gardens
      • Bayshore Gardens is located in Manatee County
    • Samoset
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Samoset have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Samoset
      • Samoset is located in Manatee County
    • West Samoset
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Samoset have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Samoset
      • West Samoset is located in Manatee County
    • Longboat Key
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • South Bradenton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Bradenton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Bradenton
      • South Bradenton is located in Manatee County

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Utopia, see our County-by-County Page for 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]<3>. 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 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 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.

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 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)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Myakka Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Myakka Cemetery
  • Palms Memorial Park Gardens
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Palms Memorial Park Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Palms Memorial Park Gardens
  • Palms Memorial Park
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Palms Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Palms Memorial Park
  • Sardis Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sardis Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sardis Cemetery
  • Sarasota Memorial Park
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sarasota Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sarasota Memorial Park
  • 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)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Braden River Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Braden River Cemetery
  • Venice Memorial Gardens
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Venice Memorial Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Venice Memorial Gardens
  • Manatee Memorial Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (20 more) ...
    • Major Adams Cemetery
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Gulf Pines Memorial Park
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gulf Pines Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gulf Pines Memorial Park
    • Mansion Memorial Park
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mansion Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mansion Memorial Park

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 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)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rye have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rye
    • Rye is located in Manatee County
  • Sandy
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy
    • Sandy is located in Manatee County
  • Manatee
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Manatee have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manatee
    • Manatee is located in Manatee County
  • 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)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Erie have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erie
    • Erie is located in Manatee County
  • Palmetto
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Pine Level
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pine Level have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Level
    • Pine Level is located in DeSoto County
  • 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)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulf City
      • Gulf City is located in Hillsborough County
    • Charlotte Harbor
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Harbor View
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harbor View
      • Harbor View is located in Charlotte County

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.

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

The official website for Sarasota County: www.co.sarasota.fl.us/

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 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Utopia) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Utopia. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 27.2900, Longitude: -82.3601       In this case, the coordinates for Utopia have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Utopia, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

Copyright 2024
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024