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 Forest Oaks (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 Forest Oaks. 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 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.
Forest Oaks is located in Porter County.
To see how the shape of Indiana's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Porter County: Cook (IL), Jasper, Lake, LaPorte, Starke & Berrien (MI).
Below are the counties that are near Forest Oaks. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Forest Oaks:
- Porter County (The home county of Forest Oaks)
- The following are listed by their distance from Forest Oaks, with the one closest to Forest Oaks listed first.
- Babcock
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Babcock is located in Porter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Babcock
- South Haven
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- South Haven is located in Porter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Haven
- Porter
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Chesterton
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Tratebas Mill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Tratebas Mill is located in Porter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tratebas Mill
- Burns Harbor
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Portage
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Willow Creek
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Willow Creek is located in Porter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Creek
- Suman
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Suman is located in Porter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suman
- Dune Acres
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Dune Acres is located in Porter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dune Acres
- Population from the 2020 Census: 182 people
- Wheeler
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Wheeler is located in Porter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheeler
- Woodland Village
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Woodland Village is located in Porter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Village
- Jasper County
- The following are listed by their distance from Forest Oaks, with the one closest to Forest Oaks listed first.
- Stoutsburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Stoutsburg is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoutsburg
- Wheatfield
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- DeMotte
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- DeMotte is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for DeMotte
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,172 people
- DeMotte has also been known as:
- De Motte
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for DeMotte <1>
- Tefft
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Tefft is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tefft
- Forest City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Forest City is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest City
- Lake County
- The following are listed by their distance from Forest Oaks, with the one closest to Forest Oaks listed first.
- Duneland Village of Gary
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Hobart
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Lake Station
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Deep River
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Deep River is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deep River
- Duneland Village
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Duneland Village is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duneland Village
- New Chicago
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- New Chicago is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Chicago
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,937 people
- Liverpool
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Liverpool is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liverpool
- Green Acres
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Green Acres is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Acres
- Lakes of the Four Seasons
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Merrillville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Winfield
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Winfield is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,265 people
- Gary
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- LaPorte County
- The following are listed by their distance from Forest Oaks, with the one closest to Forest Oaks listed first.
- Alida
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Alida is located in LaPorte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alida
- Otis
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Otis is located in LaPorte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otis
- Westville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Holmesville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Holmesville is located in LaPorte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holmesville
- Haskell
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Haskell is located in LaPorte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haskell
- Michigan City
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Waterford
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Waterford is located in LaPorte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterford
- Wanatah
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Trail Creek
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Trail Creek is located in LaPorte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trail Creek
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,985 people
- Door Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Door Village is located in LaPorte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Door Village
- Pottawattamie Park
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Pottawattamie Park is located in LaPorte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pottawattamie Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 221 people
- Long Beach
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Newton County
- Thayer
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Thayer is located in Newton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thayer
- Starke County
- The following are listed by their distance from Forest Oaks, with the one closest to Forest Oaks listed first.
- San Pierre
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Hamlet
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- North Judson
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Toto
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Toto is located in Starke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toto
- Cook County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Forest Oaks, with the one closest to Forest Oaks listed first.
- Calumet City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Lansing
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Burnham
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Burnham is located in Cook County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,040 people
- Globe
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Globe is located in Cook County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Globe
- Hegewisch
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Hegewisch is located in Cook County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hegewisch
- Lynwood
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- East Side
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- East Side is located in Cook County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Side
- Sauk Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Ford Heights
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- South Chicago
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- South Chicago is located in Cook County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Chicago
- Dolton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Glenwood
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Will County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Forest Oaks, with the one closest to Forest Oaks listed first.
- Willowbrook
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Crete
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Steger
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Goodenow
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Goodenow is located in Will County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodenow
- Berrien County (MI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Forest Oaks, with the one closest to Forest Oaks listed first.
- Michiana
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Grand Beach
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Grand Beach is located in Berrien County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Beach
- Population from the 2020 Census: 281 people
- New Buffalo
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Union Pier
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Lakeside
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Lakeside is located in Berrien County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeside
- Three Oaks
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Forest Oaks, see our County-by-County Page for Forest Oaks.
Cemeteries Near Forest Oaks ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Forest Oaks.
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 Forest Oaks - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Forest Oaks covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Forest Oaks, with the one closest to Forest Oaks listed first.
- Robbins Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- James Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Gossett Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- McCool Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCool Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the McCool Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Portage.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #85842 <2>
- Kimball Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Dillingham Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- St. Patricks Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Chesterton Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Kinne Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Burstrom Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Bailly Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Calvary Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calvary Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Calvary Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Portage.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #84536 <2>
- Continue List (153 more) ...
- Temple of Israel Cemetery of Gary
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Janes Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Blachly 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 Forest Oaks in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Forest Oaks.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Forest Oaks, with the one closest to Forest Oaks listed first.
- Babcock
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Babcock is located in Porter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Babcock
- Woodville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Woodville is located in Porter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodville
- McCool
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- McCool is located in Porter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCool
- Chesterton
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Porter
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Crisman
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Crisman is located in Porter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crisman
- Willow Creek
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Willow Creek is located in Porter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Creek
- Wheeler
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Wheeler is located in Porter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheeler
- Suman
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Suman is located in Porter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suman
- Sedley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Sedley is located in Porter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedley
- Valparaiso
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Burdick
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Burdick is located in Porter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burdick
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Hobart
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Coburg
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Coburg is located in Porter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coburg
- Miller
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Miller is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miller
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Forest Oaks. See our List of 1890's Communities around Forest Oaks.
Newspapers Published in Forest Oaks ...
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 38 newspapers that have been published in the area around Forest Oaks.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Forest Oaks, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Forest Oaks.
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 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 Forest Oaks:
- Websites specific to Indiana
- Pages specific to Porter County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Jasper County
- Lake County
- LaPorte County
- Newton County
- Starke County
- Cook County
- Will County
- Berrien County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Indiana
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 Forest Oaks, 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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Forest Oaks) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |