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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 Winter Springs (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 Winter Springs. 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 Winter Springs ...

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 have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Winter Springs: Winter Spgs. (or less commonly used: Winter Spngs. or Winter Sprngs.)

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 southeast 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 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 east 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.

Winter Springs is located in Seminole 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 Seminole County: Lake, Orange & Volusia.

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

  • Seminole County     (The home county of Winter Springs)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Winter Springs, with the one closest to Winter Springs listed first.
    • Casselberry
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Longwood
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Lake Mary
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Altamonte Springs
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Fern Park
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Sanlando Springs
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sanlando Springs
      • Sanlando Springs is located in Seminole County
    • Oviedo
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oviedo
      • Oviedo is located in Seminole County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 41,652 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oviedo <1>
    • Cameron City
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cameron City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cameron City
      • Cameron City is located in Seminole County
    • Heathrow
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Sanford
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Midway
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Midway have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
      • Midway is located in Seminole County
    • Wekiwa Springs
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wekiwa Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wekiwa Springs
      • Wekiwa Springs is located in Seminole County
    • Forest City
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Forest City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest City
      • Forest City is located in Seminole County
  • Brevard County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Winter Springs, with the one closest to Winter Springs listed first.
    • Aurantia
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aurantia
      • Aurantia is located in Brevard County
    • Scottsmoor
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Mims
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Titusville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Lake County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Winter Springs, with the one closest to Winter Springs listed first.
    • Mount Plymouth
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Plymouth have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Plymouth
      • Mount Plymouth is located in Lake County
    • Cassia
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cassia have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cassia
      • Cassia is located in Lake County
    • Sorrento
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Pine Lakes
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Lakes
      • Pine Lakes is located in Lake County
    • Lake Jem
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Jem
      • Lake Jem is located in Lake County
    • Mount Dora
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Lake Mack - Forest Hills
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Montverde
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Oakland Park
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oakland Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland Park
      • Oakland Park is located in Lake County
    • Acron ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Acron. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acron
      • Acron is located in Lake County
    • Lake Kathryn
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Kathryn
      • Lake Kathryn is located in Lake County
    • Paisley
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Ferndale
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
  • Orange County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Winter Springs, with the one closest to Winter Springs listed first.
    • Aloma
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Goldenrod
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Maitland
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Winter Park
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Eatonville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Union Park
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Fairview Shores
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview Shores
      • Fairview Shores is located in Orange County
    • Lockhart
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Azalea Park
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Alafaya
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Fairvilla
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Orlando
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • South Apopka
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Apopka have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Apopka
      • South Apopka is located in Orange County
  • Osceola County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Winter Springs, with the one closest to Winter Springs listed first.
    • Buena Ventura Lakes
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Kissimmee
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Runnymede
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Runnymede have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Runnymede
      • Runnymede is located in Osceola County
    • Celebration
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Volusia County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Winter Springs, with the one closest to Winter Springs listed first.
    • Valdez
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valdez
      • Valdez is located in Volusia County
    • De Bary
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Enterprise
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Fort Florida
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Florida
      • Fort Florida is located in Volusia County
    • Lemon Bluff
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lemon Bluff
      • Lemon Bluff is located in Volusia County
    • Osteen
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Deltona
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Orange City Hills
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange City Hills
      • Orange City Hills is located in Volusia County
    • Kalamazoo
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kalamazoo
      • Kalamazoo is located in Volusia County
    • Orange City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Cassadaga
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Lake Helen
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Alamana
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alamana
      • Alamana is located in Volusia County

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

Newspapers Published in Winter Springs ...

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 65 newspapers that have been published in the area around Winter Springs.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Winter Springs, 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 Winter Springs.

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 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 Winter Springs:

Cemeteries Near Winter Springs ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Winter Springs.

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

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

  • Longwood Memorial Gardens
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Longwood Memorial Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Longwood Memorial Gardens
  • Glen Haven Memorial Park
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Sanford Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sanford Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sanford Cemetery
  • Slavia Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Slavia Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Slavia Cemetery
  • Oaklawn Memorial Park
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oaklawn Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oaklawn Memorial Park
  • Restlawn Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Palm Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Palm Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Palm Cemetery
  • Rouse Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rouse Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rouse Cemetery
  • Highland Memory Gardens
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • The Highland Memory Gardens has also been known as:
    • Highland Memorial Garden
    • Highland Memorial Gardens
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Highland Memory Gardens
  • Pinewood Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pinewood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pinewood Cemetery
  • Chapel Hill Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Chapel Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Chapel Hill Cemetery
  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (89 more) ...
    • Geneva Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Geneva Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Geneva Cemetery
    • Greenwood Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Greenwood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Greenwood Cemetery
    • Florida Memorial Park
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Florida Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Florida 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.<6>

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

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

  • Maitland
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Goldenrod
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Eatonville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Winter Park
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Piedmont
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Piedmont have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piedmont
    • Piedmont is located in Orange County
  • Ethel
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ethel have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ethel
    • Ethel is located in Lake County
  • Orlando
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Enterprise
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Clarcona
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Conway
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Conway have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conway
    • Conway is located in Orange County
  • Osteen
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Apopka
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Plymouth
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Bay Ridge
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bay Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay Ridge
      • Bay Ridge is located in Orange County
    • Ocoee
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocoee
      • Ocoee is located in Orange County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 49,168 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ocoee <1>

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

The official website for Winter Springs: www.winterspringsfl.org/

The official website for Seminole County: www.seminolecountyfl.gov/

The official website for State of Florida: www.myflorida.com/

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 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.
<3>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<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 from Point A (ie- Winter Springs) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Winter Springs. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 28.6987, Longitude: -81.3054    
<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 Winter Springs, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024