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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 Forked River (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 Forked River. 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 Forked River ...

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 have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Forked River: Forked Riv.

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 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.

Forked River is located in Ocean County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Ocean County: Atlantic, Burlington & Monmouth.

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

  • Ocean County     (The home county of Forked River)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forked River, with the one closest to Forked River listed first.
    • Waretown
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Waretown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waretown
      • Waretown is located in Ocean County
    • Double Trouble ‑ Historic
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Dover Forge
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Toms River
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Silver Ridge
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Silver Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Ridge
      • Silver Ridge is located in Ocean County
    • Holiday Heights
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holiday Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holiday Heights
      • Holiday Heights is located in Ocean County
    • Ocean Acres
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ocean Acres have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocean Acres
      • Ocean Acres is located in Ocean County
    • Davenport ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Davenport have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davenport
      • Davenport is located in Ocean County
    • Dover Beaches South
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dover Beaches South have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dover Beaches South
      • Dover Beaches South is located in Ocean County
    • Pine Ridge at Crestwood
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pine Ridge at Crestwood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Ridge at Crestwood
      • Pine Ridge at Crestwood is located in Ocean County
    • Manahawkin
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Manahawkin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manahawkin
      • Manahawkin is located in Ocean County
    • Crestwood Village
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crestwood Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crestwood Village
      • Crestwood Village is located in Ocean County
    • Beach Haven West
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beach Haven West have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beach Haven West
      • Beach Haven West is located in Ocean County
  • Atlantic County
  • Burlington County
  • Monmouth County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forked River, with the one closest to Forked River listed first.
    • Ramtown
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ramtown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ramtown
      • Ramtown is located in Monmouth County
    • Allenwood
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Maxim
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Allaire Village ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Squankum
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • West Belmar
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Belmar have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Belmar
      • West Belmar is located in Monmouth County
    • Prospertown
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Belmar
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Shark River Hills
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shark River Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shark River Hills
      • Shark River Hills is located in Monmouth County
    • Hornerstown
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Neptune City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Cream Ridge
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Asbury Park
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)

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

Cemeteries Near Forked River ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Forked River.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Forked River, with the one closest to Forked River 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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Forked River had a population of 300 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Waretown
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Waretown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waretown
    • Waretown is located in Ocean County
  • Bayville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bayville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayville
    • Bayville is located in Ocean County
  • Toms River
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Beach View
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beach View have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beach View
    • Beach View is located in Ocean County
  • Davenport ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Davenport have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davenport
    • Davenport is located in Ocean County
  • Manahawkin
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Manahawkin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manahawkin
    • Manahawkin is located in Ocean County
  • Long Beach
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Long Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Beach
    • Long Beach is located in Ocean County
  • Cedar Run
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Run have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Run
    • Cedar Run is located in Ocean County
  • Mayetta
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Staffordville
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Chadwick
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chadwick have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chadwick
    • Chadwick is located in Ocean County
  • Silverton
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Silverton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silverton
    • Silverton is located in Ocean County
  • Continue List   (18 more) ...
    • Whiting
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Wheatland
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wheatland. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheatland
      • Wheatland is located in Ocean County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Wheatland
      • From Forked River to Wheatland
    • Osbornsville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Osbornsville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osbornsville
      • Osbornsville is located in Ocean County

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

Newspapers Published in Forked River ...

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 17 newspapers that have been published in the area around Forked River.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Forked River, there are papers which were published within 7 miles [11.3 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Forked River.

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 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 Forked River:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Forked River. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Ocean County: www.oceancountygov.com/

The official website for State of New Jersey: https://www.nj.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<2>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<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 Forked River, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Forked River) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Forked River. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.8400, Longitude: -74.1912    









 

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In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025