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A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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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 Oak (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 Oak. 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 northwest 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 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 west 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.

Oak is located in Marion 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 Marion County: Alachua, Citrus, Lake, Levy, Putnam, Sumter & Volusia.

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

  • Marion County     (The home county of Oak)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oak, with the one closest to Oak listed first.
    • Anthony
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Ocala
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Ocala is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocala
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 61,669 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ocala <1>
    • Silver Springs
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Sparr
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Martin
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Martin is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martin
    • Lowell
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Reddick
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Fellowship
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Fellowship is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fellowship
    • Citra
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Fort McCoy
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Fairfield
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Fairfield is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield
    • Silver Springs Shores
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Alachua County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oak, with the one closest to Oak listed first.
    • Island Grove
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Evinston
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Lochloosa
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Micanopy
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Hawthorne
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Rochelle
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Rochelle is located in Alachua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochelle
    • Windsor
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Windsor is located in Alachua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsor
    • Campville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Campville is located in Alachua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campville
    • Archer
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Arredondo
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Arredondo is located in Alachua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arredondo
    • Gainesville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Citrus County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oak, with the one closest to Oak listed first.
    • Holder
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Citrus Springs
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Hernando
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Pine Ridge
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Pine Ridge is located in Citrus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Ridge
  • Lake County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oak, with the one closest to Oak listed first.
    • Conant
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Conant is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conant
    • Lady Lake
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Carlton Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Carlton Village is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlton Village
    • Fruitland Park
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Levy County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oak, with the one closest to Oak listed first.
    • Morriston
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • East Williston
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • East Williston is located in Levy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Williston
    • Williston
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Raleigh
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Raleigh is located in Levy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raleigh
    • Williston Highlands
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Williston Highlands is located in Levy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williston Highlands
  • Putnam County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oak, with the one closest to Oak listed first.
    • Edgar
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Keuka
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Keuka is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keuka
    • Interlachen
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Mannville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Mannville is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mannville
    • Georgetown
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Sumter County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oak, with the one closest to Oak listed first.
    • Oxford
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • The Villages
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • The Villages is located in Sumter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Villages
    • Wildwood
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Orange Home
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Orange Home is located in Sumter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange Home

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

Cemeteries Near Oak ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Oak.

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 Oak - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Mt. Olive Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Mt. Tabor Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Temple Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Anthony Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Lincoln Memorial Gardens of Ocala
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Tucker Hill Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Agnew Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Forest Hills Memorial Park
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Greenwood Cemetery Section
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Hillcrest Cemetery Section
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Highland Memorial Park
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (100 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.<3>

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

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

  • Anthony
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Kendrick
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Kendrick is located in Marion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kendrick
  • Ocala
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Ocala is located in Marion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocala
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 61,669 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ocala <1>
  • Silver Springs
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Sparr
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Martin
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Martin is located in Marion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martin
  • Montague
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Montague is located in Marion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montague
  • Lowell
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Martel
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Martel is located in Marion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martel
  • Santos
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Santos is located in Marion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santos
  • Grahamsville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Grahamsville is located in Marion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grahamsville
  • Reddick
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (18 more) ...
    • Millwood
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Millwood is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millwood
    • Fellowship
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Fellowship is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fellowship
    • Fort McCoy
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Oak ...

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 45 newspapers that have been published in the area around Oak.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Oak, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Oak.

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 helpful 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 Oak:

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