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 Oakland Center (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 Oakland Center. 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 Oakland Center ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Oakland Center: Oakland Ctr. (or less commonly used: Oakland Cen., Oakland Cent. or Oakland Cntr.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Oakland Center. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Oakland Center.
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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and 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.
Oakland Center is located in Schuyler County.
To see how the shape of Illinois' counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Schuyler County: Adams, Brown, Cass, Fulton, Hancock, Mason & McDonough.
Below are the counties that are near Oakland Center. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Oakland Center:
- Schuyler County (The home county of Oakland Center)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakland Center, with the one closest to Oakland Center listed first.
- Littleton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Rushville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Bader
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Bader is located in Schuyler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bader
- Browning
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Wayland
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Wayland is located in Schuyler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayland
- Frederick
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Bluff City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Bluff City is located in Schuyler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City
- Camden
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Huntsville
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Adams County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakland Center, with the one closest to Oakland Center listed first.
- La Prairie
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Blacks
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Blacks is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blacks
- Clayton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Golden
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Kellerville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Kellerville is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellerville
- Brown County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakland Center, with the one closest to Oakland Center listed first.
- Ripley
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Ripley is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ripley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 82 people
- Cooperstown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Cooperstown is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooperstown
- Mount Sterling
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Gilbirds
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Gilbirds is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilbirds
- Hersman
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Hersman is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hersman
- Mound Station
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Mound Station is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mound Station
- Population from the 2020 Census: 116 people
- Timewell
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Versailles
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Cass County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakland Center, with the one closest to Oakland Center listed first.
- Beardstown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Oak Grove
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Oak Grove is located in Cass County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Bluff Springs
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Hagener
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Hagener is located in Cass County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hagener
- Chandlerville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Jules
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Jules is located in Cass County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jules
- Arenzville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Virginia
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Burlingame
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Burlingame is located in Cass County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlingame
- Sylvan ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Sylvan is located in Cass County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvan
- Philadelphia
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Philadelphia is located in Cass County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Philadelphia
- Newmansville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Newmansville is located in Cass County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newmansville
- Fulton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakland Center, with the one closest to Oakland Center listed first.
- Vermont
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Astoria
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Table Grove
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Summum
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Summum is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summum
- Ipava
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Marbletown
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Marbletown is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marbletown
- Marietta
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Smithfield
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Sepo
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Sepo is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sepo
- Lewistown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Checkrow
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Checkrow is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Checkrow
- Cuba
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Hancock County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakland Center, with the one closest to Oakland Center listed first.
- Plymouth
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Augusta
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Joetta
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Joetta is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joetta
- Fountain Green
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Fountain Green is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fountain Green
- Bowen
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Mason County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakland Center, with the one closest to Oakland Center listed first.
- Snicarte
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Snicarte is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snicarte
- Bath
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- White City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- White City is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
- Havana
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Long Branch
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Long Branch is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Branch
- Kilbourne
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Buzzville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Buzzville is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buzzville
- Poplar City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- McDonough County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakland Center, with the one closest to Oakland Center listed first.
- Industry
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Doddsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Doddsville is located in McDonough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doddsville
- Adair
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- New Philadelphia
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- New Philadelphia is located in McDonough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Philadelphia
- Bardolph
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- East Village
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- East Village is located in McDonough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Village
- Macomb
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- University Village
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- University Village is located in McDonough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University Village
- Lamone Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Lamone Village is located in McDonough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamone Village
- Colchester
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Tennessee
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Colmar
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Colmar is located in McDonough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colmar
- Menard County
- Oakford
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Morgan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakland Center, with the one closest to Oakland Center listed first.
- Meredosia
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Concord
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Arcadia
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Arcadia is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcadia
- Literberry
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Pike County
- Chambersburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Warren County
- Youngstown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Youngstown is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Youngstown
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Oakland Center, see our County-by-County Page for Oakland Center.
Cemeteries Near Oakland Center ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Oakland Center.
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 Oakland Center - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Oakland Center covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Oakland Center, with the one closest to Oakland Center listed first.
- Houston Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houston Cemetery
- The Houston Cemetery has also been known as:
- Houston Methodist Church Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2438197 <2>
- Pittenger Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Burress Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Beghtol Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Phillips Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Bauer Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Gorsuch Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Adams Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- France Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Bethany Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Gay Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Chockley Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chockley Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Chockley Cemetery is located 5 miles [8 km]<3> to the west of Vermont.
- Continue List (500 more) ...
- Christian Neck Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Dennis Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Sugar Grove North Cemetery
(5 miles [8 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.<4>
While we didn't find Oakland Center in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Oakland Center.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Oakland Center, with the one closest to Oakland Center listed first.
- Ray
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Ray is located in Schuyler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ray
- Vermont
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Littleton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Rushville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Bader
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Bader is located in Schuyler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bader
- Astoria
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Industry
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Doddsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Doddsville is located in McDonough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doddsville
- Pleasant View
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Pleasant View is located in Schuyler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant View
- Wayland
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Wayland is located in Schuyler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayland
- Browning
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Leesburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Leesburg is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leesburg
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Table Grove
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Pennington Point
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Pennington Point is located in McDonough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennington Point
- Erwin
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Erwin is located in Schuyler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erwin
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Oakland Center. See our List of 1890's Communities around Oakland Center.
Newspapers Published in Oakland Center ...
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 51 newspapers that have been published in the area around Oakland Center.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Oakland Center, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Oakland Center.
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 Oakland Center:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Schuyler County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Adams County
- Brown County
- Cass County
- Fulton County
- Hancock County
- Mason County
- McDonough County
- Menard County
- Morgan County
- Pike County
- Warren County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Illinois
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' (or 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- Oakland Center) 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 Oakland Center, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |