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 White 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 White 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.
Name Variations for White Oak ...
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.
Another variation: Whiteoak.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named White Oak. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for White Oak.
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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors 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.
White Oak is located in Polk County.
To see how the shape of Iowa's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Polk County: Boone, Dallas, Jasper, Madison, Marion, Story & Warren.
Below are the counties that are near White Oak. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to White Oak:
- Polk County (The home county of White Oak)
- The following are listed by their distance from White Oak, with the one closest to White Oak listed first.
- Berwick
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Berwick is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berwick
- Country Estate Village
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Altoona
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Carney
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Carney is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carney
- Marquisville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Marquisville is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marquisville
- Bondurant
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Saylorville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Saylorville is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saylorville
- Ankeny
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Pleasant Hill
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Rising Sun
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Rising Sun is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rising Sun
- Des Moines
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Elkhart
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Levey
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Levey is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Levey
- Boone County
- The following are listed by their distance from White Oak, with the one closest to White Oak listed first.
- Madrid
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Luther
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Luther is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luther
- Population from the 2020 Census: 133 people
- Jordan
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Jordan is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jordan
- Dallas County
- The following are listed by their distance from White Oak, with the one closest to White Oak listed first.
- Granger
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- High Bridge
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- High Bridge is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Bridge
- Waukee
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Booneville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Dallas Center
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Xenia
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Xenia is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Xenia
- Woodward
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Van Meter
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Adel
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- DeSoto
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Minburn
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Minburn is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minburn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 357 people
- Bouton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Panther
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Panther is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panther
- Jasper County
- The following are listed by their distance from White Oak, with the one closest to White Oak listed first.
- Valeria
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Valeria is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valeria
- Population from the 2020 Census: 58 people
- Oswalt
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Oswalt is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oswalt
- Colfax
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Green Castle
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Green Castle is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Castle
- Mingo
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Vandalia
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Vandalia is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vandalia
- Prairie City
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Goddard
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Goddard is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goddard
- Clyde
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Clyde is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clyde
- Ira
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Ira is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ira
- Metz
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Metz is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Metz
- Baxter
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Lambs Grove
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Lambs Grove is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lambs Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 165 people
- Madison County
- The following are listed by their distance from White Oak, with the one closest to White Oak listed first.
- Patterson
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Patterson is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patterson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 163 people
- Saint Charles
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Marion County
- The following are listed by their distance from White Oak, with the one closest to White Oak listed first.
- Swan
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Swan is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swan
- Population from the 2020 Census: 74 people
- Percy ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Percy is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Percy
- Pleasantville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Cordova
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Cordova is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cordova
- Otley
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Marshall County
- The following are listed by their distance from White Oak, with the one closest to White Oak listed first.
- Rhodes
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Rhodes is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rhodes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 298 people
- Melbourne
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Malta
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Malta is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malta
- State Center
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Story County
- The following are listed by their distance from White Oak, with the one closest to White Oak listed first.
- Cambridge
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Huxley
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Slater
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Maxwell
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Iowa Center
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Iowa Center is located in Story County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iowa Center
- Midvale
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Midvale is located in Story County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midvale
- Collins
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Collins is located in Story County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collins
- Population from the 2020 Census: 472 people
- Kelley
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Shipley
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Shipley is located in Story County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shipley
- Ames
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Nevada
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Ontario
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Ontario is located in Story County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ontario
- Colo
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Warren County
- The following are listed by their distance from White Oak, with the one closest to White Oak listed first.
- Lakewood
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Lakewood is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakewood
- Orillia
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Orillia is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orillia
- Hartford
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Palmyra
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Palmyra is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmyra
- Cumming
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Spring Hill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Spring Hill is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 65 people
- Prole
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Prole is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prole
- Ackworth
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Ackworth is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ackworth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 105 people
- Indianola
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Sandyville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Sandyville is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandyville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 54 people
- Churchville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Churchville is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Churchville
- Clarkson ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Clarkson is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarkson
- Martensdale
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to White Oak, see our County-by-County Page for White Oak.
Cemeteries Near White Oak ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of White 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 White Oak - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for White Oak covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from White Oak, with the one closest to White Oak listed first.
- Berwick Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Enterprise Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Greenwood Friends Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Oralabor Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Pinehill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Harvey Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- New Altoona Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Altoona Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Bondurant Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Highland Memory Gardens
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Sims Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Continue List (289 more) ...
- Laurel Hill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Rising Sun Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Oakwood Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 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.<3>
While we didn't find White Oak in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of White Oak.
These communities are listed based on their distance from White Oak, with the one closest to White Oak listed first.
- Berwick
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Berwick is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berwick
- Saylor
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Saylor is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saylor
- Altoona
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Oralabor
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Oralabor is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oralabor
- Bondurant
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Saylorville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Saylorville is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saylorville
- Ankeny
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Des Moines
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Rising Sun
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Rising Sun is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rising Sun
- East Des Moines
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- East Des Moines is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Des Moines
- Ivy
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Ivy is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivy
- Levey
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Levey is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Levey
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Hastie
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Hastie is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hastie
- Mitchellville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Santiago
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Santiago is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santiago
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around White Oak. See our List of 1890's Communities around White Oak.
Newspapers Published in White 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 312 newspapers that have been published in the area around White Oak.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of White Oak, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for White Oak.
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 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 White Oak:
- Websites specific to Iowa
- Pages specific to Polk County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Boone County
- Dallas County
- Jasper County
- Madison County
- Marion County
- Marshall County
- Story County
- Warren County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Iowa
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 White Oak, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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 from Point A (ie- White Oak) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |