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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 Whitfield Estates (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 Whitfield Estates. 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.

Name Variations for Whitfield Estates ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Whitfield Estates: Whitfield Ests.

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

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 and 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.

Whitfield Estates is located in Manatee 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 Manatee County: DeSoto, Hardee, Hillsborough, Polk & Sarasota.

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

  • Manatee County     (The home county of Whitfield Estates)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whitfield Estates, with the one closest to Whitfield Estates listed first.
    • Whitfield
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Whitfield is located in Manatee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitfield
    • Tallevast
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Bayshore Gardens
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Bayshore Gardens is located in Manatee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayshore Gardens
    • South Bradenton
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • South Bradenton is located in Manatee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Bradenton
    • Oneco
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Samoset
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Samoset is located in Manatee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Samoset
    • West Samoset
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • West Samoset is located in Manatee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Samoset
    • Longboat Key
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Bradenton
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • West Bradenton
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • West Bradenton is located in Manatee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Bradenton
    • Whitney Beach
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Palmetto
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Hillsborough County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whitfield Estates, with the one closest to Whitfield Estates listed first.
    • Fort Dade ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Fort Dade is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Dade
    • Sun City
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Gulf City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Gulf City is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulf City
    • Manatee Harbor
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Manatee Harbor is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manatee Harbor
    • Ruskin
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Bayou Pass Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Bayou Pass Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Pass Village
    • Park Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Park Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park Village
    • Freedom Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Freedom Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freedom Village
    • Montero Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Montero Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montero Village
    • Sun City Center
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Cypress Creek Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Cypress Creek Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cypress Creek Village
    • Edgewater Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Edgewater Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgewater Village
  • Pinellas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whitfield Estates, with the one closest to Whitfield Estates listed first.
    • Tierra Verde
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Saint Pete Beach
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Gulfport
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Saint Petersburg Beach
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Saint Petersburg
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • South Pasadena
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • South Pasadena is located in Pinellas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Pasadena
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,067 people
    • Treasure Island
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Kenneth City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Lealman
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Lealman is located in Pinellas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lealman
    • Madeira Beach
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Pinellas Park
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
    • Bay Pines
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Sarasota County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whitfield Estates, with the one closest to Whitfield Estates listed first.
    • North Sarasota
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • North Sarasota is located in Sarasota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Sarasota
    • Sarasota
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Desoto Lakes
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Desoto Lakes is located in Sarasota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Desoto Lakes
    • Kensington Park
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Kensington Park is located in Sarasota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kensington Park
    • The Meadows
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • The Meadows is located in Sarasota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Meadows
    • Pinecraft
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Southgate
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Southgate is located in Sarasota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southgate
    • South Sarasota
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • South Sarasota is located in Sarasota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Sarasota
    • Fruitville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Sarasota Springs
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Sarasota Springs is located in Sarasota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sarasota Springs
    • Siesta Key
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Ridge Wood Heights
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Ridge Wood Heights is located in Sarasota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridge Wood Heights

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

Cemeteries Near Whitfield Estates ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Whitfield Estates.

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 Whitfield Estates - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Manatee Memorial Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Galilee Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Woodlawn Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Braden River Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Major Adams Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Fogartyville Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Adams & Rogers Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adams & Rogers Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Adams & Rogers Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Bradenton.
    • The Adams & Rogers Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Adams Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1989096 <2>
  • Skyway Memorial Gardens
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Palms Memorial Park Gardens
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Palms Memorial Park
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Mansion Memorial Park
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Palma Sola Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (22 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.<4>

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

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

  • Bradenton
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Manatee
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Manatee is located in Manatee County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manatee
  • Palmetto
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Palma Sola
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Ellenton
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Terra Ceia
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Erie
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Erie is located in Manatee County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erie
  • Rye
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Rye is located in Manatee County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rye
  • Gulf City
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Gulf City is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulf City
  • Sandy
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Sandy is located in Manatee County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy

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

Newspapers Published in Whitfield Estates ...

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 26 newspapers that have been published in the area around Whitfield Estates.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Whitfield Estates, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Whitfield Estates.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 Whitfield Estates:

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Whitfield Estates) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<4>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 Whitfield Estates, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.