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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 Westchester (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 Westchester. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Westchester is located in Miami-Dade 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 Miami-Dade County: Broward, Collier & Monroe.

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

  • Miami-Dade County     (The home county of Westchester)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westchester, with the one closest to Westchester listed first.
    • Coral Way Village
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coral Way Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coral Way Village
      • Coral Way Village is located in Miami-Dade County
    • West Miami
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Miami have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Miami
      • West Miami is located in Miami-Dade County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,749 people
    • Fountainebleau
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fountainebleau have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fountainebleau
      • Fountainebleau is located in Miami-Dade County
    • Coral Terrace
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coral Terrace have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coral Terrace
      • Coral Terrace is located in Miami-Dade County
    • Ludlam
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Olympia Heights
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Sweetwater
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sweetwater have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweetwater
      • Sweetwater is located in Miami-Dade County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 20,747 people
    • University Park
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Glenvar Heights
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenvar Heights
      • Glenvar Heights is located in Miami-Dade County
    • Sunset
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Westwood Lakes
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Westwood Lakes have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood Lakes
      • Westwood Lakes is located in Miami-Dade County
    • Coral Gables
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Broward County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westchester, with the one closest to Westchester listed first.
    • Miramar
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Pembroke Pines
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Lake Forest
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Forest have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Forest
      • Lake Forest is located in Broward County
    • Miami Gardens
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miami Gardens
      • Miami Gardens is located in Broward County
    • Utopia
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Utopia have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Utopia
      • Utopia is located in Broward County
    • West Park
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Park
      • West Park is located in Broward County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 15,038 people
    • Carver Ranches
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carver Ranches have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carver Ranches
      • Carver Ranches is located in Broward County
    • Pembroke Park
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Royal Palm Ranches
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Royal Palm Ranches have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal Palm Ranches
      • Royal Palm Ranches is located in Broward County
    • Sunshine Ranches
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunshine Ranches have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunshine Ranches
      • Sunshine Ranches is located in Broward County
    • Hallandale Beach
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Hallandale
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hallandale came from an uncertain source and they still need to be verified:<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallandale
      • Hallandale is located in Broward County

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

Newspapers Published in Westchester ...

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 266 newspapers that have been published in the area around Westchester.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Westchester, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Westchester.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 Westchester:

Cemeteries Near Westchester ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Westchester.

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

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

  • Star of David Memorial Park
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Star of David Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Star of David Memorial Park
  • Miami Memorial Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Graceland Memorial Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Graceland Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Graceland Memorial Park
  • Flagler Memorial Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Flagler Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Flagler Memorial Park
  • Mt. Nebo Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Nebo Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Nebo Cemetery
  • Lakeside Memorial Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lakeside Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lakeside Memorial Park
  • Woodlawn Park Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Woodlawn Park Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Woodlawn Park Cemetery
  • Our Lady of Mercy Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Our Lady of Mercy Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Our Lady of Mercy Cemetery
  • Charlotte Jane Memorial Park
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Charlotte Jane Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Charlotte Jane Memorial Park
  • Evergreen Memorial Park
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Evergreen Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Evergreen Memorial Park
  • Lincoln Evergreen Memorial Park
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lincoln Evergreen Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lincoln Evergreen Memorial Park
  • Lincoln Memorial Park
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lincoln Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lincoln Memorial Park
  • Continue List   (28 more) ...
    • Woodlawn Park Cemetery South
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Dade South Memorial Park
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Dade South Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dade South Memorial Park
    • Pine Lawn Memorial Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pine Lawn Memorial Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pine Lawn Memorial 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.<6>

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

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

  • Miami
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miami
    • Miami is located in Miami-Dade County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 471,525 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Miami <2>
  • Cutler
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cutler have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cutler
    • Cutler is located in Miami-Dade County

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

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

The official website for Miami-Dade County: www.miamidade.gov/

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>If we found a location and have questions about the accuracy of our information, we will simply say that the marker is 'in the vicinity'. We are not confident about the location and the position of our marker is only a rough guide. If we have too many doubts about the location, we will not include it in our database.
<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- Westchester) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Westchester. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 25.7548, Longitude: -80.3273       In this case, the coordinates for Westchester have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>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.
<6>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 Westchester, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024