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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 Villas (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 Villas. 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.

Villas is located in Lee 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 Lee County: Charlotte, Collier, Glades & Hendry.

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

  • Lee County     (The home county of Villas)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Villas, with the one closest to Villas listed first.
    • Pine Manor
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pine Manor have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Manor
      • Pine Manor is located in Lee County
    • Page Park
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Page Park
      • Page Park is located in Lee County
    • Whiskey Creek
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Whiskey Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiskey Creek
      • Whiskey Creek is located in Lee County
    • Biggar
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Cypress Lake
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cypress Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cypress Lake
      • Cypress Lake is located in Lee County
    • McGregor
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McGregor have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGregor
      • McGregor is located in Lee County
    • Forest Island Park
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Forest Island Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Island Park
      • Forest Island Park is located in Lee County
    • Harlem Heights
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlem Heights
      • Harlem Heights is located in Lee County
    • East Dunbar
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Dunbar
      • East Dunbar is located in Lee County
    • Cape Coral
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Fort Myers
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Lochmoor Waterway Estates
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lochmoor Waterway Estates have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lochmoor Waterway Estates
      • Lochmoor Waterway Estates is located in Lee County
    • Iona
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Iona have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iona
      • Iona is located in Lee County
  • Charlotte County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Villas, with the one closest to Villas listed first.
    • Charlotte Park
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Charlotte Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlotte Park
      • Charlotte Park is located in Charlotte County
    • Fishermens Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • 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
    • Punta Gorda
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Cleveland
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleveland
      • Cleveland is located in Charlotte County
    • Solana
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Solana have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Solana
      • Solana is located in Charlotte County
    • Harbor View
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harbor View
      • Harbor View is located in Charlotte County
    • Charlotte Harbor
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Collier County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Villas, with the one closest to Villas listed first.
    • Barefoot Beach
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barefoot Beach
      • Barefoot Beach is located in Collier County
    • Naples Park
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Vanderbilt Beach
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Pelican Bay
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Pine Ridge
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pine Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Ridge
      • Pine Ridge is located in Collier County
    • North Naples
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Naples have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Naples
      • North Naples is located in Collier County
    • Orangetree
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Orangetree have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orangetree
      • Orangetree is located in Collier County
    • Vineyards
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vineyards have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vineyards
      • Vineyards is located in Collier County
    • Golden Gate
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Naples
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Immokalee
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • East Naples
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Naples have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Naples
      • East Naples is located in Collier County
    • Ave Maria
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Hendry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Villas, with the one closest to Villas listed first.
    • Felda
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • La Belle
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Villas ...

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 51 newspapers that have been published in the area around Villas.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Villas, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Villas.

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 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 Villas:

Cemeteries Near Villas ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Villas.

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

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

  • Ft. Myers Memorial Gardens
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Woodlawn Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Calvary Gardens
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Frierson - Hendry Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Hendry Frierson Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hendry Frierson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hendry Frierson Cemetery
  • Oak Ridge Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Ft. Myers Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Lee Memorial Garden Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lee Memorial Garden Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lee Memorial Garden Cemetery
  • Koreshan Cemetery #2
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Lee Memorial Park
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Coral Ridge Gardens
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Coral Ridge Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Coral Ridge Gardens
  • Prospect Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...

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

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

  • Punta Rassa
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Punta Rassa have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Punta Rassa
    • Punta Rassa is located in Lee County
  • Sanibel
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Buckingham
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckingham
    • Buckingham is located in Lee County
  • Saint James City
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Alva
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
  • Naples
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
  • Punta Gorda
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Cleveland
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleveland
    • Cleveland 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 Villas. See our List of 1890's Communities around Villas.

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

The official website for Lee County: www.lee-county.com/

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 drawn from Point A (ie- Villas) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Villas. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 26.5504, Longitude: -81.8687       In this case, the coordinates for Villas 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 Villas, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024