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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 Oak Grove (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 Grove. 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 Grove ...

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.

Another variation: Oakgrove.

  • A typical abbreviation for Oak Grove: Oak Grv.

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Oak Grove. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Oak Grove.

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 northeast 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 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 east 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.

Oak Grove is located in Brunswick County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Brunswick County: Columbus, New Hanover, Pender & Horry (SC).

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

  • Brunswick County     (The home county of Oak Grove)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oak Grove, with the one closest to Oak Grove listed first.
    • Sivey Town
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Sivey Town is located in Brunswick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sivey Town
    • Supply
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Shallotte
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Holden Beach
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Varnamtown
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Varnamtown is located in Brunswick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Varnamtown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 603 people
    • Ocean Isle Beach
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Bolivia
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Makatoka
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Makatoka is located in Brunswick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Makatoka
    • Saint James
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Saint James is located in Brunswick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint James
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,607 people
    • Oak Island
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Exum
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Exum is located in Brunswick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exum
    • Ash
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Ash is located in Brunswick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ash
  • Bladen County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oak Grove, with the one closest to Oak Grove listed first.
    • East Arcadia
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • East Arcadia is located in Bladen County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Arcadia
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 470 people
    • Council
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Council is located in Bladen County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Council
  • Columbus County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oak Grove, with the one closest to Oak Grove listed first.
    • Pireway
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Pireway is located in Columbus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pireway
    • Bug Hill
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Bug Hill is located in Columbus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bug Hill
    • Byrdville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Byrdville is located in Columbus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byrdville
    • Delco
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Nakina
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Nakina is located in Columbus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nakina
    • Acme
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Acme is located in Columbus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acme
    • Bolton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Pine Level
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Pine Level is located in Columbus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Level
    • Armour
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Armour is located in Columbus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armour
    • Riegelwood
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Bethel
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Bethel is located in Columbus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
    • Lake Waccamaw
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
  • New Hanover County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oak Grove, with the one closest to Oak Grove listed first.
    • Kure Beach
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Carolina Beach
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Sea Breeze
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Sea Breeze is located in New Hanover County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sea Breeze
    • Silver Lake
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Silver Lake is located in New Hanover County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Lake
    • Myrtle Grove
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Myrtle Grove is located in New Hanover County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myrtle Grove
    • Hightsville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Hightsville is located in New Hanover County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hightsville
    • Wilmington
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Masonboro
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Masonboro is located in New Hanover County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Masonboro
    • Wrightsboro
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Wrightsboro is located in New Hanover County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wrightsboro
    • Seagate
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Seagate is located in New Hanover County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seagate
  • Horry County (SC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oak Grove, with the one closest to Oak Grove listed first.
    • Little River
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Cedar Creek Village
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Cedar Creek Village is located in Horry County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Creek Village
    • Cherry Grove Beach
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • North Myrtle Beach
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Little Town
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Little Town is located in Horry County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Town
    • Longs
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Atlantic Beach
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Atlantic Beach is located in Horry County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atlantic Beach
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 483 people
    • Briarcliffe Acres
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Briarcliffe Acres is located in Horry County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briarcliffe Acres
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 612 people
    • Hand
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Hand is located in Horry County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hand

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Oak Grove, see our County-by-County Page for Oak Grove.

Cemeteries Near Oak Grove ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Oak Grove.

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

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

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

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 Oak Grove in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Oak Grove.

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

  • Supply
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Shallotte
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Makatoka
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Makatoka is located in Brunswick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Makatoka
  • Exum
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Exum is located in Brunswick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exum
  • Ash
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Ash is located in Brunswick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ash
  • Iredell
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Iredell is located in Brunswick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iredell
  • Calabash
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Winnabow
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Town Creek
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Town Creek is located in Brunswick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Town Creek
  • Southport
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
  • Little River
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
  • Pireway
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Pireway is located in Columbus County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pireway
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Old Dock
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Old Dock is located in Columbus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Dock
    • Bug Hill
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Bug Hill is located in Columbus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bug Hill
    • Byrdville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Byrdville is located in Columbus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byrdville

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

Newspapers Published in Oak Grove ...

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 8 newspapers that have been published in the area around Oak Grove.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Oak Grove, 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 Oak Grove.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Grove:

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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Oak Grove) 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 Oak Grove, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.