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 White Oak (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 White Oak. 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 hospitals and 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.
White Oak is located in Smith 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 Smith County: Covington, Jasper, Jones, Newton, Rankin, Scott & Simpson.
Below are the counties that are near White Oak. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to White Oak:
- Smith County (The home county of White Oak)
- The following are listed by their distance from White Oak, with the one closest to White Oak listed first.
- Daniel
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Daniel is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daniel
- Polkville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Polkville is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polkville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 819 people
- Trenton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Trenton is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trenton
- Raleigh
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Burns
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Burns is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burns
- Bezer
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Bezer is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bezer
- Mize
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Mineral Springs
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Mineral Springs is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral Springs
- Sylvarena
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Sylvarena is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvarena
- Population from the 2020 Census: 106 people
- Taylorsville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Covington County
- The following are listed by their distance from White Oak, with the one closest to White Oak listed first.
- Mount Olive
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Mount Olive is located in Covington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Olive
- Population from the 2020 Census: 896 people
- Arbo
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Arbo is located in Covington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arbo
- Hot Coffee
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Hot Coffee is located in Covington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hot Coffee
- Collins
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Jasper County
- The following are listed by their distance from White Oak, with the one closest to White Oak listed first.
- Bay Springs
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Hamlet ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Hamlet is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamlet
- Louin
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Louin is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Louin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 262 people
- Stevens ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Stevens is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stevens
- Success ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Success is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Success
- Montrose
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Montrose is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montrose
- Population from the 2020 Census: 137 people
- Lake Como
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Lake Como is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Como
- Turnerville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Turnerville is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turnerville
- Stringer
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Verba ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Verba is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verba
- Lawrence County
- New Hebron
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Newton County
- Six Towns ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Six Towns is located in Newton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Six Towns
- Rankin County
- The following are listed by their distance from White Oak, with the one closest to White Oak listed first.
- Galilee
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Galilee is located in Rankin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galilee
- Puckett
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Puckett is located in Rankin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Puckett
- Population from the 2020 Census: 346 people
- Cato
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Cato is located in Rankin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cato
- Pelahatchie
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Brandon
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Greenfield
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Greenfield is located in Rankin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield
- King
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- King is located in Rankin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for King
- Florence
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Pearl
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Fannin
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Fannin is located in Rankin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fannin
- Pearson
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Pearson is located in Rankin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearson
- Clear Branch
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Clear Branch is located in Rankin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Branch
- Scott County
- The following are listed by their distance from White Oak, with the one closest to White Oak listed first.
- Cooperville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Cooperville is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooperville
- Hunter Town
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Hunter Town is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunter Town
- Morton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Kalem
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Kalem is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kalem
- Raworth
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Raworth is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raworth
- Forest
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Branch
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Branch is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branch
- Clifton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Clifton is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
- Lake
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Beach
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Beach is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beach
- Simpson County
- The following are listed by their distance from White Oak, with the one closest to White Oak listed first.
- Sanatorium
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Sanatorium is located in Simpson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sanatorium
- Magee
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- D'Lo
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- D'Lo is located in Simpson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for D'Lo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 442 people
- Mendenhall
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Coats
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Coats is located in Simpson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coats
- Braxton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Braxton is located in Simpson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Braxton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 179 people
- Westville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Westville is located in Simpson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westville
- Jaynesville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Jaynesville is located in Simpson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jaynesville
- Shivers
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Shivers is located in Simpson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shivers
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to White Oak, see our County-by-County Page for White Oak.
Cemeteries Near White Oak ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of White Oak.
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 White Oak - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for White Oak covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from White Oak, with the one closest to White Oak listed first.
- Dukes Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- White Oak Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Everett Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Old Terry Graveyard
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Miley Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Galilee Church Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Overby Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Merchant Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Pleasent Hill Baptist Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Rock Bluff Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Steve Hughes Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steve Hughes Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Steve Hughes Cemetery is located 8 miles [12.9 km]<3> to the northwest of Raleigh.
- The Steve Hughes Cemetery has also been known as:
- Old Field Cemetery
- Union Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (444 more) ...
- Burnham Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- James Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Crossroads Holiness Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
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>
While we didn't find White Oak in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of White Oak.
These communities are listed based on their distance from White Oak, with the one closest to White Oak listed first.
- Gunn
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Gunn is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gunn
- Daniel
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Daniel is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daniel
- Puckett
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Puckett is located in Rankin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Puckett
- Population from the 2020 Census: 346 people
- Everett
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Everett is located in Simpson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Everett
- Polkville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Polkville is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polkville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 819 people
- Trenton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Trenton is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trenton
- Raleigh
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Burns
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Burns is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burns
- Johns
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Johns is located in Rankin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johns
- Shongelo
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Shongelo is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shongelo
- Lynwood ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Lynwood is located in Rankin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynwood
- Cato
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Cato is located in Rankin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cato
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- D'Lo
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- D'Lo is located in Simpson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for D'Lo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 442 people
- Magee
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Bezer
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Bezer is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bezer
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around White Oak. See our List of 1890's Communities around White Oak.
Newspapers Published in White Oak ...
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 31 newspapers that have been published in the area around White Oak.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of White Oak, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for White Oak.
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 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 White Oak:
- Websites specific to Mississippi
- Pages specific to Smith County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Covington County
- Jasper County
- Lawrence County
- Newton County
- Rankin County
- Scott County
- Simpson 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> | 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- White Oak) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 White Oak, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |