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 doctors and hospitals 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 Cherokee 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 Cherokee County: Fannin (GA), Union (GA), Clay, Graham, Macon, Monroe (TN) & Polk (TN).
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:
- Cherokee 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.
- Coalville
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Coalville is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coalville
- Andrews
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Marble
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Buffalo
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Buffalo is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo
- Boiling Springs
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Boiling Springs is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boiling Springs
- Rhodo
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Rhodo is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rhodo
- Topton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Murphy
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Grape Creek
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Grape Creek is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grape Creek
- Unaka
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Unaka is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unaka
- Ogreeta
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Ogreeta is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogreeta
- Hiwassee Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Hiwassee Village is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hiwassee Village
- Vests
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Vests is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vests
- Clay County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Grove, with the one closest to Oak Grove listed first.
- Hayesville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Brasstown
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Warne
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Elf
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Elf is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elf
- Pine Log Village
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Pine Log Village is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Log Village
- Graham County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Grove, with the one closest to Oak Grove listed first.
- Robbinsville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Lake Santeetlah
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Lake Santeetlah is located in Graham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Santeetlah
- Population from the 2020 Census: 43 people
- Lake Santeetlah has also been known as:
- Santeetla
- Santeetlah
- Santultah
- Thunderbird Mountain
- Thunderbird
- Bear Creek
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Bear Creek is located in Graham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Creek
- Cheoah
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Cheoah is located in Graham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheoah
- Yellow Creek
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Yellow Creek is located in Graham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Creek
- Fontana Dam
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Fontana Dam is located in Graham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fontana Dam
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6 people
- Fontana Dam has also been known as:
- Fontana Village
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fontana Dam <1>
- Stecoah
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Stecoah is located in Graham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stecoah
- Macon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Grove, with the one closest to Oak Grove listed first.
- Fairview
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Fairview is located in Macon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Tellico
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Tellico is located in Macon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tellico
- Franklin
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Leatherman
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Leatherman is located in Macon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leatherman
- Otto
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Riverside
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Riverside is located in Macon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
- Swain County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Grove, with the one closest to Oak Grove listed first.
- Nantahala
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Nantahala is located in Swain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nantahala
- Wesser
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Wesser is located in Swain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wesser
- Almond
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Bushnell ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Bushnell is located in Swain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bushnell
- Judson ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Judson is located in Swain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Judson
- Forney ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Forney is located in Swain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forney
- Unahala
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Unahala is located in Swain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unahala
- Bryson City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Fannin County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Grove, with the one closest to Oak Grove listed first.
- Cutcane
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Cutcane is located in Fannin County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cutcane
- Estimated population in 2019: 3,417 people
- Hemp
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Hemp is located in Fannin County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hemp
- Population from the 2010 Census: 1,647 people
- Craytonia
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Craytonia is located in Fannin County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craytonia
- Mineral Bluff
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Morganton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Pantertown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Pantertown is located in Fannin County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pantertown
- Population from the 2010 Census: 9,749 people
- Towns County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Grove, with the one closest to Oak Grove listed first.
- Young Harris
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Hunt ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Hunt is located in Towns County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunt
- Hiawassee
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Jacksonville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Jacksonville is located in Towns County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacksonville
- Estimated population in 2019: 5,239 people
- Tate City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Tate City is located in Towns County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tate City
- Union County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Grove, with the one closest to Oak Grove listed first.
- Canal Lake
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Canal Lake is located in Union County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canal Lake
- Population from the 2010 Census: 23,025 people
- Blairsville
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Bethlehem
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Bethlehem is located in Union County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethlehem
- Hood ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Hood is located in Union County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hood
- Owltown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Owltown is located in Union County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Owltown
- Estimated population in 2019: 2,346 people
- Choestoe
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Choestoe is located in Union County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Choestoe
- Youngcane ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Youngcane is located in Union County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Youngcane
- Estimated population in 2019: 1,661 people
- Blount County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Grove, with the one closest to Oak Grove listed first.
- Chilhowee
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Chilhowee is located in Blount County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chilhowee
- Happy Valley
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Happy Valley is located in Blount County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Happy Valley
- Red Bank
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Red Bank is located in Blount County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Bank
- Monroe County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Grove, with the one closest to Oak Grove listed first.
- Coker Creek
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Coker Creek is located in Monroe County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coker Creek
- Ipe ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Ipe is located in Monroe County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ipe
- Jacktown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Jacktown is located in Monroe County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacktown
- Estimated population in 2014: 67,319 people
- Ballplay
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Ballplay is located in Monroe County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballplay
- Belltown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Belltown is located in Monroe County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belltown
- Halfway Town ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Halfway Town is located in Monroe County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halfway Town
- Tellico Plains
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Epperson
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Epperson is located in Monroe County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Epperson
- Acorn
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Acorn is located in Monroe County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acorn
- Rural Vale
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Rural Vale is located in Monroe County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rural Vale
- Jalapa
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Jalapa is located in Monroe County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jalapa
- Toqua ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Toqua is located in Monroe County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toqua
- Polk County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Grove, with the one closest to Oak Grove listed first.
- Belltown Hill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Belltown Hill is located in Polk County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belltown Hill
- Estimated population in 2014: 2,457 people
- Ducktown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Chanceytown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Chanceytown is located in Polk County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chanceytown
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.
- Moss Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Parker Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Valley River Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Valleytown Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Wiggins Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Massey Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- West Buffalo Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Mc Guire Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Wells Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Fires Creek Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Ferguson Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Sunset Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (313 more) ...
- Haigler Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Oak View Baptist Church Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Holloway Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
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.
- Coalville
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Coalville is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coalville
- Marble
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Andrews
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Tomotla
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Tomotla is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tomotla
- Peachtree
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Peachtree is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peachtree
- Robbinsville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Tusquitee
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Tusquitee is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tusquitee
- Murphy
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Hayesville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Grape Creek
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Grape Creek is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grape Creek
- Brasstown
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Nantahala
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Nantahala is located in Swain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nantahala
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Warne
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Elf
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Elf is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elf
- Aquone
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Aquone is located in Macon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aquone
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 30 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 23 miles [37 km]<2>. 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 like to start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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:
- Websites specific to North Carolina
- Pages specific to Cherokee County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Clay County
- Graham County
- Macon County
- Swain County
- Fannin County
- Towns County
- Union County
- Blount County
- Monroe County
- Polk County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for North Carolina
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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Oak Grove) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <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. |