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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 Oakley (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 Oakley. 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 Parishes ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring parishes.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the southwest corner of their home parish. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next parish to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the parish to the south.

So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring parishes instead of the parish in which they lived:  their home parish contained property and probate records; the parish to the west contained birth and death records; the parish to the south contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring parishes, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Oakley is located in Franklin Parish.

To see how the shape of Louisiana's parishes may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following parishes adjoin and form the boundaries of Franklin Parish: Caldwell, Catahoula, Madison, Richland & Tensas.

Below are the parishes that are near Oakley. For each of these parishes, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Oakley:

  • Franklin Parish     (The home parish of Oakley)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oakley, with the one closest to Oakley listed first.
    • Wisner
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Elam
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Elam is located in Franklin Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elam
    • Gilbert
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jigger
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Chase
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Extension
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Extension is located in Franklin Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Extension
    • Winnsboro
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Fort Necessity
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Swampers
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Swampers is located in Franklin Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swampers
    • Crowville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Liddieville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Liddieville is located in Franklin Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liddieville
    • Baskin
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
  • Caldwell Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oakley, with the one closest to Oakley listed first.
    • Fredericksburg ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Fredericksburg is located in Caldwell Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredericksburg
    • Columbia
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Banks Springs
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Banks Springs is located in Caldwell Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banks Springs
    • Grayson
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Clarks
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Catahoula Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oakley, with the one closest to Oakley listed first.
    • Sicily Island
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Sicily Island is located in Catahoula Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sicily Island
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 438 people
    • Greenville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Greenville is located in Catahoula Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenville
    • Wildwood
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Wildwood is located in Catahoula Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildwood
    • Enterprise
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Enterprise is located in Catahoula Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enterprise
    • Harrisonburg
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Rosefield
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Rosefield is located in Catahoula Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosefield
    • Aimwell
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Trinity
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Trinity is located in Catahoula Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trinity
    • Jonesville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Concordia Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oakley, with the one closest to Oakley listed first.
    • Dunbarton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Dunbarton is located in Concordia Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunbarton
    • Clayton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • West Ferriday
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • West Ferriday is located in Concordia Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Ferriday
    • Ferriday
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Chevey Chase
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Chevey Chase is located in Concordia Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chevey Chase
    • Athlone
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Athlone is located in Concordia Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Athlone
    • Ridgecrest
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Ridgecrest is located in Concordia Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgecrest
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 585 people
    • Sycamore
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Sycamore is located in Concordia Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sycamore
    • Wildsville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
  • Richland Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oakley, with the one closest to Oakley listed first.
    • New Light
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • New Light is located in Richland Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Light
    • Mangham
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Archibald
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Alto
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Alto is located in Richland Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alto
  • Tensas Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oakley, with the one closest to Oakley listed first.
    • Newlight
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Newlight is located in Tensas Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newlight
    • Highland
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Highland is located in Tensas Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland
    • Waterproof
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Newellton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Saint Joseph
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Yucatan Landing
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Yucatan Landing is located in Tensas Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yucatan Landing
  • Claiborne County (MS)
    • Westside
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Westside is located in Claiborne County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westside
  • Jefferson County (MS)
    • Rodney
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Rodney is located in Jefferson County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rodney

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Oakley, see our Parish-by-Parish Page for Oakley.

Cemeteries Near Oakley ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Oakley.

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 Oakley - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Oakley covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Oakley, with the one closest to Oakley listed first.

  • Hope Estate Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Oakley Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Eureka Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Central Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • New Zion Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Ward Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • State Place Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Humble Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Shady Grove Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • King Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Pilgrim Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Chase Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (178 more) ...
    • Providence Memorial Park
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Carrway Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Wayside Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)

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.<2>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Oakley had a population of 100 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Oakley, with the one closest to Oakley listed first.

  • Gilbert
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Holly Grove
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Holly Grove is located in Franklin Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Grove
  • Como
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Como is located in Franklin Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Como
  • Sicily Island
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Sicily Island is located in Catahoula Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sicily Island
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 438 people
  • Winnsboro
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Fort Necessity
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Leland
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Leland is located in Catahoula Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leland
  • Highland
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Highland is located in Tensas Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland
  • Newlight
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Newlight is located in Tensas Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newlight
  • Greenville
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Greenville is located in Catahoula Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenville
  • Wildwood
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Wildwood is located in Catahoula Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildwood
  • Enterprise
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Enterprise is located in Catahoula Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enterprise
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Crowville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Goldman
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Goldman is located in Tensas Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goldman
    • Harrisonburg
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Oakley. See our List of 1890's Communities around Oakley.

Newspapers Published in Oakley ...

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 17 newspapers that have been published in the area around Oakley.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Oakley, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Oakley.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 Oakley:

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>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 Oakley, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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- Oakley) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.