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 Oaktown (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 Oaktown. 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 doctors 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.
Oaktown is located in Knox 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 Knox County: Crawford (IL), Lawrence (IL), Wabash (IL), Davies's, Gibson, Greene, Pike & Sullivan.
Below are the counties that are near Oaktown. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Oaktown:
- Knox County (The home county of Oaktown)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oaktown, with the one closest to Oaktown listed first.
- Busseron
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Busseron is located in Knox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Busseron
- Freelandville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Freelandville is located in Knox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freelandville
- Bruceville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Bicknell
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Edwardsport
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Edwardsport is located in Knox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwardsport
- Population from the 2020 Census: 298 people
- Ragsdale
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Ragsdale is located in Knox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ragsdale
- Westphalia
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Sandborn
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Sandborn is located in Knox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandborn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 403 people
- Fritchton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Fritchton is located in Knox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fritchton
- Vincennes
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Verne
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Verne is located in Knox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verne
- Wheatland
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Wheatland is located in Knox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheatland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 469 people
- Clay County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oaktown, with the one closest to Oaktown listed first.
- Coalmont
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Coalmont is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coalmont
- Howesville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Howesville is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howesville
- Davies's County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oaktown, with the one closest to Oaktown listed first.
- Capehart
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Capehart is located in Davies's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Capehart
- Plainville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Plainville is located in Davies's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 500 people
- Graham
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Graham is located in Davies's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graham
- Elnora
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Elnora is located in Davies's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elnora
- Population from the 2020 Census: 676 people
- Washington
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Odon
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Sandy Hook
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Sandy Hook is located in Davies's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Hook
- Montgomery
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Cannelburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Cannelburg is located in Davies's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cannelburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 165 people
- Glendale
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Glendale is located in Davies's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendale
- Gibson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oaktown, with the one closest to Oaktown listed first.
- Giro
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Giro is located in Gibson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Giro
- Hazleton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Greene County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oaktown, with the one closest to Oaktown listed first.
- White Rose
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- White Rose is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Rose
- Island City
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Island City is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Island City
- Linton
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Hoosier
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Hoosier is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoosier
- Gilmour
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Gilmour is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilmour
- Lyons
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Midland
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Midland is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midland
- Newberry
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Newberry is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newberry
- Population from the 2020 Census: 186 people
- Jasonville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Switz City
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Plummer
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Plummer is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plummer
- Elliston
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Elliston is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliston
- Martin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oaktown, with the one closest to Oaktown listed first.
- Burns City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Burns City is located in Martin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burns City
- Crane
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Pike County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oaktown, with the one closest to Oaktown listed first.
- Petersburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Petersburg is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,299 people
- Union
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Union is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
- Alford
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Alford is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alford
- Highbank Town
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Highbank Town is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highbank Town
- Algiers
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Algiers is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Algiers
- Sullivan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oaktown, with the one closest to Oaktown listed first.
- Carlisle
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Paxton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Paxton is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paxton
- New Lebanon
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Merom
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Sullivan
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Gambill
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Gambill is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gambill
- Jericho
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Jericho is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jericho
- Dugger
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Scotchtown
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Scotchtown is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotchtown
- Graysville
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Graysville is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graysville
- Shelburn
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Scott City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Scott City is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scott City
- Vigo County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oaktown, with the one closest to Oaktown listed first.
- Lewis
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Lewis is located in Vigo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewis
- Prairie Creek
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Prairie Creek is located in Vigo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Creek
- Vigo
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Vigo is located in Vigo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vigo
- Pimento
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Pimento is located in Vigo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pimento
- Clark County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oaktown, with the one closest to Oaktown listed first.
- York
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- York is located in Clark County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for York
- West Union
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- West Union is located in Clark County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Union
- Melrose
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Melrose is located in Clark County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose
- Snyder
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Snyder is located in Clark County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snyder
- Crawford County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oaktown, with the one closest to Oaktown listed first.
- Heathsville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Heathsville is located in Crawford County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heathsville
- Oil Grove
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Oil Grove is located in Crawford County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oil Grove
- Palestine
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Flat Rock
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Duncanville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Duncanville is located in Crawford County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duncanville
- Gordon
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Gordon is located in Crawford County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordon
- Villas
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Villas is located in Crawford County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villas
- New Hebron
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- New Hebron is located in Crawford County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hebron
- Robinson
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Trimble
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Trimble is located in Crawford County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trimble
- Hutsonville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Hardinville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Hardinville is located in Crawford County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hardinville
- Lawrence County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oaktown, with the one closest to Oaktown listed first.
- Russellville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Birds
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Lawrenceville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Billett
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Billett is located in Lawrence County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Billett
- Bridgeport
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Francisville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Sumner
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Helena
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Helena is located in Lawrence County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helena
- Petersburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Richland County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oaktown, with the one closest to Oaktown listed first.
- Amity
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Amity is located in Richland County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amity
- Claremont
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Wabash County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oaktown, with the one closest to Oaktown listed first.
- Allendale
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Orio
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Orio is located in Wabash County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orio
- Adams Corner
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Adams Corner is located in Wabash County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adams Corner
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Oaktown, see our County-by-County Page for Oaktown.
Cemeteries Near Oaktown ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Oaktown.
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 Oaktown - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Oaktown covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Oaktown, with the one closest to Oaktown listed first.
- Asher Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Orndorff Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Light Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Ocheltree Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Charley Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Walker Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Tevealt Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Price Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Shaw Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Price Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Chambers Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Haddon Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Continue List (384 more) ...
- Vester Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Ledgerwood Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Bartmess Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Oaktown had a population of 359 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Oaktown had a population of 593 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Oaktown, with the one closest to Oaktown listed first.
- Busseron
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Busseron is located in Knox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Busseron
- Emison
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Emison is located in Knox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emison
- Russellville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Carlisle
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Bruceville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Freelandville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Freelandville is located in Knox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freelandville
- Heathsville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Heathsville is located in Crawford County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heathsville
- Richwoods
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Richwoods is located in Crawford County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richwoods
- Bicknell
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Edwardsport
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Edwardsport is located in Knox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwardsport
- Population from the 2020 Census: 298 people
- Paxton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Paxton is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paxton
- Morea
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Morea is located in Crawford County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morea
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Westphalia
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- New Lebanon
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Birds
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Oaktown. See our List of 1890's Communities around Oaktown.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Oaktown ...
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 144 newspapers that have been published in the area around Oaktown.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Oaktown. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Oaktown and those printed in the larger area surrounding Oaktown.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<2> of Oaktown.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Oaktown:
- Websites specific to Indiana
- Pages specific to Knox County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Clay County
- Davies's County
- Gibson County
- Greene County
- Martin County
- Pike County
- Sullivan County
- Vigo County
- Clark County
- Crawford County
- Lawrence County
- Richland County
- Wabash 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> | 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- Oaktown) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <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 Oaktown, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |