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 Oakland (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 Oakland. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Oakland is located in Yalobusha County.
To see how the shape of Mississippi's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Yalobusha County: Calhoun, Grenada, Lafayette, Panola & Tallahatchie.
Below are the counties that are near Oakland. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Oakland:
- Yalobusha County (The home county of Oakland)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakland, with the one closest to Oakland listed first.
- Tillatoba
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Tillatoba is located in Yalobusha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tillatoba
- Population from the 2010 Census: 91 people
- Coffeeville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Velma
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Velma is located in Yalobusha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Velma
- Water Valley
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Calhoun County
- Banner
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Carroll County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakland, with the one closest to Oakland listed first.
- Avalon
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Avalon is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avalon
- Jefferson
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Jefferson is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson
- Grenada County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakland, with the one closest to Oakland listed first.
- Turkey Foot Fork
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Turkey Foot Fork is located in Grenada County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkey Foot Fork
- Memphis Junction
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Memphis Junction is located in Grenada County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Memphis Junction
- Grenada
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Elliott
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Elliott is located in Grenada County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliott
- Lafayette County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakland, with the one closest to Oakland listed first.
- Springdale
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Springdale is located in Lafayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springdale
- Taylor
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Alesville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Alesville is located in Lafayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alesville
- Leflore County
- Minter City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Minter City is located in Leflore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minter City
- Panola County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakland, with the one closest to Oakland listed first.
- Pope
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Pope is located in Panola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pope
- Population from the 2020 Census: 245 people
- Courtland
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Courtland is located in Panola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Courtland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 504 people
- Chapeltown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Chapeltown is located in Panola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapeltown
- Batesville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Mims
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Mims is located in Panola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mims
- Terza
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Terza is located in Panola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terza
- Ballentine
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Ballentine is located in Panola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballentine
- Sardis
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Quitman County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakland, with the one closest to Oakland listed first.
- Crowder
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Crowder is located in Quitman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crowder
- Population from the 2020 Census: 645 people
- Bobo
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Bobo is located in Quitman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bobo
- Lambert
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Lambert is located in Quitman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lambert
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,325 people
- Yarbrough
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Yarbrough is located in Quitman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yarbrough
- Marks
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Vance
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Vance is located in Quitman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vance
- Falcon
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Falcon is located in Quitman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falcon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 142 people
- Tallahatchie County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakland, with the one closest to Oakland listed first.
- Crevi ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Crevi is located in Tallahatchie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crevi
- Charleston
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Rosebloom
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Rosebloom is located in Tallahatchie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosebloom
- Paynes
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Paynes is located in Tallahatchie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paynes
- Leverett
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Leverett is located in Tallahatchie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leverett
- Swan Lake
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Swan Lake is located in Tallahatchie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swan Lake
- Albin
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Albin is located in Tallahatchie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albin
- Webb
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Webb is located in Tallahatchie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webb
- Population from the 2020 Census: 468 people
- Glendora
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Sumner
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Sumner is located in Tallahatchie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumner
- Population from the 2020 Census: 264 people
- Tutwiler
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Oakland, see our County-by-County Page for Oakland.
Cemeteries Near Oakland ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Oakland.
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 Oakland - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Oakland covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Oakland, with the one closest to Oakland listed first.
- Olvis Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Barnes Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Brown Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Parrish Henderson Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Womble Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Rome Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Spring Hill Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Spring Hill Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Carr Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Sayles Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Jackson Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Lesters Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Continue List (284 more) ...
- Cook Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Swearengen Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Burkhalter Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 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.<3>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Oakland had a population of 327 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Oakland had a population of 492 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Oakland, with the one closest to Oakland listed first.
- Teasdale
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Teasdale is located in Tallahatchie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teasdale
- Crevi ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Crevi is located in Tallahatchie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crevi
- Charleston
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Murphreesboro ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Murphreesboro is located in Tallahatchie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murphreesboro
- Pope
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Pope is located in Panola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pope
- Population from the 2020 Census: 245 people
- Paynes
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Paynes is located in Tallahatchie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paynes
- Rosebloom
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Rosebloom is located in Tallahatchie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosebloom
- Courtland
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Courtland is located in Panola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Courtland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 504 people
- Eureka Springs
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Eureka Springs is located in Panola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka Springs
- Cascilla
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Cascilla is located in Tallahatchie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cascilla
- Coffeeville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Leverett
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Leverett is located in Tallahatchie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leverett
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Chapeltown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Chapeltown is located in Panola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapeltown
- Velma
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Velma is located in Yalobusha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Velma
- Batesville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Oakland. See our List of 1890's Communities around Oakland.
Newspapers Published in Oakland ...
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 58 newspapers that have been published in the area around Oakland.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Oakland, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Oakland.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 Oakland:
- Websites specific to Mississippi
- Pages specific to Yalobusha County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Calhoun County
- Carroll County
- Grenada County
- Lafayette County
- Leflore County
- Panola County
- Quitman County
- Tallahatchie County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Mississippi
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 Oakland, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Oakland) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |