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 (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. 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 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.
Whitfield is located in Santa Rosa 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 Santa Rosa County: Escambia (AL), Escambia & Okaloosa.
Below are the counties that are near Whitfield. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Whitfield:
- Santa Rosa County (The home county of Whitfield)
- The following are listed by their distance from Whitfield, with the one closest to Whitfield listed first.
- Jay
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Jay is located in Santa Rosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jay
- Population from the 2020 Census: 653 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jay <1>
- Belandville ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Belandville is located in Santa Rosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belandville
- Milton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Harold
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Bagdad
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Galt City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Galt City is located in Santa Rosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galt City
- Pace
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Escambia County
- The following are listed by their distance from Whitfield, with the one closest to Whitfield listed first.
- Century
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- McDavid
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- McDavid is located in Escambia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McDavid
- Byrneville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Byrneville is located in Escambia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byrneville
- Molino
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Pine Barren
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Pine Barren is located in Escambia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Barren
- Quintette
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Quintette is located in Escambia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quintette
- Gonzalez
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Gonzalez is located in Escambia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gonzalez
- Barrineau Park
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Barrineau Park is located in Escambia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrineau Park
- Cantonment
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Ferry Pass
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Ferry Pass is located in Escambia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferry Pass
- Muscogee
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Muscogee is located in Escambia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muscogee
- Walnut Hill
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Bohemia
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Bohemia is located in Escambia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bohemia
- Okaloosa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Whitfield, with the one closest to Whitfield listed first.
- Otahite ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Otahite is located in Okaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otahite
- Holt
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Baker
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Cannon Town
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Cannon Town is located in Okaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cannon Town
- Milligan
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Crestview
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Garden City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Garden City is located in Okaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
- Conecuh County (AL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Whitfield, with the one closest to Whitfield listed first.
- Castleberry
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Castleberry is located in Conecuh County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castleberry
- Population from the 2020 Census: 527 people
- Johnsonville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Johnsonville is located in Conecuh County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnsonville
- Covington County (AL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Whitfield, with the one closest to Whitfield listed first.
- Wing
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Wing is located in Covington County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wing
- Falco
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Falco is located in Covington County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falco
- Escambia County (AL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Whitfield, with the one closest to Whitfield listed first.
- Riverview
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Riverview is located in Escambia County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverview
- Population from the 2020 Census: 181 people
- Pollard
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Pollard is located in Escambia County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pollard
- Population from the 2020 Census: 132 people
- East Brewton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Brewton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Flomaton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Roberts
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Roberts is located in Escambia County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roberts
- Hammac
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Hammac is located in Escambia County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hammac
- Bradley
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Bradley is located in Escambia County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradley
- Atmore
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Whitfield, see our County-by-County Page for Whitfield.
Cemeteries Near Whitfield ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Whitfield.
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 - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Whitfield covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Whitfield, with the one closest to Whitfield listed first.
- Crossroads Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Walling Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Old Fidelis Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Pine View Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Concord Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Sullivan Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Concord Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Pine Level Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Chavers Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Old Spring Hill Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Dixonville Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Cora Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Continue List (139 more) ...
- Henderson Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Odom Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Allen Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
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.<2>
While we didn't find Whitfield in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Whitfield.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Whitfield, with the one closest to Whitfield listed first.
- Berrydale
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Berrydale is located in Santa Rosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berrydale
- Pollard
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Pollard is located in Escambia County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pollard
- Population from the 2020 Census: 132 people
- Chumuckla
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Chumuckla is located in Santa Rosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chumuckla
- Bluff Springs
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Bluff Springs is located in Escambia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff Springs
- Otahite ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Otahite is located in Okaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otahite
- Brewton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Flomaton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- McDavid
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- McDavid is located in Escambia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McDavid
- Roberts
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Roberts is located in Escambia County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roberts
- Milton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Pine Barren
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Pine Barren is located in Escambia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Barren
- Molino
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Bagdad
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Hammac
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Hammac is located in Escambia County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hammac
- Galt City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Galt City is located in Santa Rosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galt City
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Whitfield. See our List of 1890's Communities around Whitfield.
Newspapers Published in Whitfield ...
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 47 newspapers that have been published in the area around Whitfield.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Whitfield, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Whitfield.
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 Whitfield:
- Websites specific to Florida
- Pages specific to Santa Rosa County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Escambia County
- Okaloosa County
- Conecuh County
- Covington County
- Escambia County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Florida
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> | 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, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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- Whitfield) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |