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 Oak Ridge (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 Oak Ridge. 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 Oak Ridge ...
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.
Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Oak Ridge: Oak Rdg. (or less commonly used: Oak Rdge. or Oak Ridg.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Oak Ridge. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Oak Ridge.
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 southwest 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 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.
Oak Ridge is located in Cape Girardeau County.
To see how the shape of Missouri's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Cape Girardeau County: Alexander (IL), Union (IL), Bollinger, Perry, Scott & Stoddard.
Below are the counties that are near Oak Ridge. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Oak Ridge:
- Cape Girardeau County (The home county of Oak Ridge)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Daisy
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Daisy is located in Cape Girardeau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daisy
- Pocahontas
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Shawneetown
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Shawneetown is located in Cape Girardeau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawneetown
- Millersville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Old Appleton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Old Appleton is located in Cape Girardeau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Appleton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 82 people
- Friedheim
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Leemon
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Leemon is located in Cape Girardeau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leemon
- Jackson
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Burfordville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Gravel Hill
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Gravel Hill is located in Cape Girardeau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gravel Hill
- Gordonville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Crump
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Crump is located in Cape Girardeau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crump
- Cape Girardeau
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bollinger County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Sedgewickville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Sedgewickville is located in Bollinger County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedgewickville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 167 people
- Seopus
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Seopus is located in Bollinger County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seopus
- Patton Junction
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Patton Junction is located in Bollinger County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patton Junction
- Patton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Laflin
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Laflin is located in Bollinger County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laflin
- Leopold
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Leopold is located in Bollinger County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leopold
- Lutesville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Lutesville is located in Bollinger County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lutesville
- Marble Hill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Glenallen
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Glenallen is located in Bollinger County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenallen
- Population from the 2020 Census: 83 people
- Grassy
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Grassy is located in Bollinger County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grassy
- Madison County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Marquand
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Marquand is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marquand
- Population from the 2020 Census: 197 people
- Cornwall
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Cornwall is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornwall
- Cobalt
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Cobalt is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobalt
- Population from the 2020 Census: 224 people
- Perry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Uniontown
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Uniontown is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uniontown
- Biehle
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Biehle is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Biehle
- Brazeau
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Brazeau is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brazeau
- Frohna
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Frohna is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frohna
- Population from the 2020 Census: 241 people
- Millheim
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Millheim is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millheim
- Eureka
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Eureka is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka
- Longtown
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Longtown is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longtown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 100 people
- Altenburg
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Farrar
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Farrar is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farrar
- Perryville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Silver Lake
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Silver Lake is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Lake
- Sereno
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Sereno is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sereno
- McBride
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- McBride is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McBride
- Sainte Genevieve County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Minnith
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Minnith is located in Sainte Genevieve County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minnith
- Saint Mary
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Womack
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Womack is located in Sainte Genevieve County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Womack
- Clearwater
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Clearwater is located in Sainte Genevieve County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clearwater
- Ozora
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Ozora is located in Sainte Genevieve County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ozora
- Scott County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Scott City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Chaffee
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Kelso
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Caney Creek
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Caney Creek is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caney Creek
- New Hamburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- New Hamburg is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hamburg
- Oran
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Perkins
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Perkins is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perkins
- Commerce
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Benton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Lambert
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Lambert is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lambert
- Population from the 2010 Census: 34 people
- Stoddard County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Painton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Painton is located in Stoddard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Painton
- Advance
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Alexander County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- East Cape Girardeau
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- East Cape Girardeau is located in Alexander County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Cape Girardeau
- Population from the 2020 Census: 268 people
- McClure
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Thebes
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Thebes is located in Alexander County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thebes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 303 people
- Diswood
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Diswood is located in Alexander County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diswood
- Elco
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Olive Branch
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Jackson County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Grand Tower
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Gorham
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Jacob
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Pomona
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Degognia
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Degognia is located in Jackson County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Degognia
- Murphysboro
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Makanda
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Ava
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Ava is located in Jackson County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ava
- Population from the 2020 Census: 610 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ava <1>
- Randolph County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Rockwood
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Leanderville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Leanderville is located in Randolph County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leanderville
- Chester
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Menard
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Kaskaskia
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Kaskaskia is located in Randolph County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kaskaskia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 13 people
- Shiloh Hill
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Shiloh Hill is located in Randolph County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh Hill
- Dozaville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Dozaville is located in Randolph County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dozaville
- Union County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Wolf Lake
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Reynoldsville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Reynoldsville is located in Union County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reynoldsville
- Alto Pass
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Dutch Mills
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Dutch Mills is located in Union County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutch Mills
- Jonesboro
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Anna
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- 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>
- Cobden
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Mill Creek
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Mill Creek is located in Union County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Creek
- Population from the 2020 Census: 64 people
- Water Valley
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Water Valley is located in Union County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Water Valley
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Oak Ridge, see our County-by-County Page for Oak Ridge.
Cemeteries Near Oak Ridge ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Oak Ridge.
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 Oak Ridge - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Oak Ridge covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Oak Ridge Baptist Church Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Clippard Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Fulbright Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Byrd Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Wheeler Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Mayfield Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Old Salem Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Sides Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Ramsey Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Byrd Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- New Salem UMC Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Salem UMC Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the New Salem UMC Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southwest of Daisy.
- The New Salem UMC Cemetery has also been known as:
- New Salem Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1987831 <2>
- Old Caney Fork Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Continue List (357 more) ...
- Kurre Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Wise Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Snyder Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
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 Oak Ridge had a population of 111 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Oak Ridge had a population of 231 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Daisy
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Daisy is located in Cape Girardeau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daisy
- Pocahontas
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Kurreville
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Kurreville is located in Cape Girardeau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kurreville
- Millersville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Arnsberg
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Arnsberg is located in Cape Girardeau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnsberg
- Shawneetown
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Shawneetown is located in Cape Girardeau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawneetown
- Fruitland
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Fruitland is located in Cape Girardeau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruitland
- New Wells ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- New Wells is located in Cape Girardeau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Wells
- Old Appleton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Old Appleton is located in Cape Girardeau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Appleton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 82 people
- Friedheim
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Leemon
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Leemon is located in Cape Girardeau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leemon
- Uniontown
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Uniontown is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uniontown
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Jackson
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Biehle
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Biehle is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Biehle
- Burfordville
(10 miles [16.1 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 Oak Ridge. See our List of 1890's Communities around Oak Ridge.
Newspapers Published in Oak Ridge ...
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 79 newspapers that have been published in the area around Oak Ridge.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Oak Ridge, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Oak Ridge.
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 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 Oak Ridge:
- Websites specific to Missouri
- Pages specific to Cape Girardeau County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bollinger County
- Madison County
- Perry County
- Sainte Genevieve County
- Scott County
- Stoddard County
- Alexander County
- Jackson County
- Randolph County
- Union County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Missouri
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 Oak Ridge, 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- Oak Ridge) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |