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 Oscar (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 Oscar. 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 and 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.
Oscar is located in Ballard County.
To see how the shape of Kentucky's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Ballard County: Alexander (IL), Pulaski (IL), Carlisle, McCracken & Mississippi (MO).
Below are the counties that are near Oscar. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Oscar:
- Ballard County (The home county of Oscar)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oscar, with the one closest to Oscar listed first.
- Bandana
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Bandana is located in Ballard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bandana
- Barlow
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Barlow is located in Ballard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barlow
- Population from the 2020 Census: 628 people
- La Center
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Kevil
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Ceredo
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Ceredo is located in Ballard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceredo
- Wickliffe
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Gage
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Gage is located in Ballard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gage
- Blandville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Blandville is located in Ballard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blandville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 84 people
- Lovelaceville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Lovelaceville is located in Ballard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lovelaceville
- Carlisle County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oscar, with the one closest to Oscar listed first.
- Cunningham
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Bardwell
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Kirbyton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Kirbyton is located in Carlisle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirbyton
- Arlington
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Arlington is located in Carlisle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 296 people
- Milburn
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Milburn is located in Carlisle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milburn
- Graves County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oscar, with the one closest to Oscar listed first.
- Melber
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Melber is located in Graves County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melber
- Lowes
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Lowes is located in Graves County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowes
- Pottsville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Pottsville is located in Graves County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pottsville
- Fancy Farm
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Fancy Farm is located in Graves County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fancy Farm
- Boaz
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- West Viola
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- West Viola is located in Graves County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Viola
- Hickory
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Hickory is located in Graves County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory
- Hickman County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oscar, with the one closest to Oscar listed first.
- Columbus
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Columbus is located in Hickman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbus
- Population from the 2020 Census: 150 people
- Spring Hill
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Spring Hill is located in Hickman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
- Livingston County
- Ledbetter
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- McCracken County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oscar, with the one closest to Oscar listed first.
- Ragland
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Ragland is located in McCracken County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ragland
- Woodville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Woodville is located in McCracken County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodville
- Cimota City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Cimota City is located in McCracken County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cimota City
- West Future City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- West Future City is located in McCracken County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Future City
- Future City
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Future City is located in McCracken County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Future City
- Grahamville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Grahamville is located in McCracken County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grahamville
- Camelia
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Camelia is located in McCracken County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camelia
- West Paducah
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Massac
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Massac is located in McCracken County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massac
- Lone Oak
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Lone Oak is located in McCracken County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Oak
- Hendron
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Hendron is located in McCracken County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hendron
- Paducah
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Krebs
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Krebs is located in McCracken County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Krebs
- Alexander County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oscar, with the one closest to Oscar listed first.
- Cairo Junction
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Cairo Junction is located in Alexander County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cairo Junction
- Future City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Future City is located in Alexander County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Future City
- Cairo
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Cairo is located in Alexander County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cairo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,989 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cairo <1>
- Frog City ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Frog City is located in Alexander County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frog City
- Cache
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Hodges Park
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Hodges Park is located in Alexander County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hodges Park
- Unity
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Tamms
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Tamms is located in Alexander County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tamms
- Population from the 2020 Census: 449 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tamms <1>
- Elco
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Diswood
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Diswood is located in Alexander County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diswood
- Miller City
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Olive Branch
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Thebes
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Thebes is located in Alexander County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thebes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 303 people
- Johnson County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oscar, with the one closest to Oscar listed first.
- Belknap
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Cypress
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Bender ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Bender is located in Johnson County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bender
- Vienna
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Reevesville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Reevesville is located in Johnson County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reevesville
- Wartrace
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Wartrace is located in Johnson County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wartrace
- Buncombe
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Grantsburg
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Simpson
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Goreville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Reynoldsburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Reynoldsburg is located in Johnson County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reynoldsburg
- Deer Ridge
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Deer Ridge is located in Johnson County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Ridge
- Massac County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oscar, with the one closest to Oscar listed first.
- Joppa
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Massac City
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Massac City is located in Massac County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massac City
- Metropolis
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- New Columbia
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- New Columbia is located in Massac County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Columbia
- Big Bay
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Big Bay is located in Massac County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Bay
- Brookport
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Shady Grove
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Shady Grove is located in Massac County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Grove
- Unionville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Unionville is located in Massac County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unionville
- Pope County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oscar, with the one closest to Oscar listed first.
- Dixon Springs
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Dixon Springs is located in Pope County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixon Springs
- Glendale
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Glendale is located in Pope County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendale
- Rock
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Rock is located in Pope County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock
- Bay City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Bay City is located in Pope County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay City
- Pulaski County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oscar, with the one closest to Oscar listed first.
- Olmsted
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Grand Chain
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- New Grand Chain
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- New Grand Chain is located in Pulaski County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Grand Chain
- Population from the 2020 Census: 178 people
- Mound City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Mounds
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Mounds is located in Pulaski County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mounds
- Population from the 2020 Census: 666 people
- Villa Ridge
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Villa Ridge is located in Pulaski County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villa Ridge
- Karnak
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Pulaski
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Perks
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Ullin
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Union County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oscar, with the one closest to Oscar listed first.
- Dongola
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Mill Creek
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Mill Creek is located in Union County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Creek
- Population from the 2020 Census: 64 people
- Mount Pleasant
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Mount Pleasant is located in Union County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- Dutch Mills
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Dutch Mills is located in Union County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutch Mills
- Anna
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Anna is located in Union County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anna
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,059 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Anna <1>
- Jonesboro
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Reynoldsville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Reynoldsville is located in Union County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reynoldsville
- Lick Creek
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Lick Creek is located in Union County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lick Creek
- Water Valley
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Water Valley is located in Union County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Water Valley
- Cobden
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Oscar, see our County-by-County Page for Oscar.
Cemeteries Near Oscar ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Oscar.
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 Oscar - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Oscar covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Oscar, with the one closest to Oscar listed first.
- Oscar Community Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Bridgewater Graveyard
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Northington Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Old Hazelwood Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- La Cemetery Gardens Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Calvin Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Miles Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Lyerly Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Wilson Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Sheets Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Cook Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Continue List (371 more) ...
- Waters Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Barlow Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Jenkins 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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Oscar had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Oscar, with the one closest to Oscar listed first.
- Bandana
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Bandana is located in Ballard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bandana
- Olmsted
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Barlow
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Barlow is located in Ballard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barlow
- Population from the 2020 Census: 628 people
- America
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- America is located in Pulaski County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for America
- Grand Chain
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Mound City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Slater
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Slater is located in Ballard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slater
- Hinkleville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Hinkleville is located in Ballard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hinkleville
- Woodville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Woodville is located in McCracken County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodville
- Ragland
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Ragland is located in McCracken County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ragland
- New Grand Chain
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- New Grand Chain is located in Pulaski County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Grand Chain
- Population from the 2020 Census: 178 people
- Villa Ridge
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Villa Ridge is located in Pulaski County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villa Ridge
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Mounds
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Mounds is located in Pulaski County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mounds
- Population from the 2020 Census: 666 people
- Hillerman
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Hillerman is located in Massac County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillerman
- Joppa
(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 Oscar. See our List of 1890's Communities around Oscar.
Newspapers Published in Oscar ...
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 97 newspapers that have been published in the area around Oscar.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Oscar, 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 Oscar.
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 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 Oscar:
- Websites specific to Kentucky
- Pages specific to Ballard County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Carlisle County
- Graves County
- Hickman County
- Livingston County
- McCracken County
- Alexander County
- Johnson County
- Massac County
- Pope County
- Pulaski County
- Union County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Kentucky
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 Oscar, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Oscar) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |