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 Ridge (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 Ridge. 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 Ridge ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Oak Ridge: Oak Rdg. (or less commonly used: Oak Rdge. or Oak Ridg.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Oak Ridge. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Oak Ridge.
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 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 Ridge is located in Ocean County.
To see how the shape of New Jersey's counties may 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 Oak Ridge. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Oak Ridge:
- Ocean County (The home county of Oak Ridge)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Silver Ridge
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Silver Ridge is located in Ocean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Ridge
- Toms River
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Toms River is located in Ocean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toms River
- Glen Cedar City
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Glen Cedar City is located in Ocean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Cedar City
- Holiday Heights
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Holiday Heights is located in Ocean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holiday Heights
- Holiday City
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Holiday City is located in Ocean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holiday City
- Leisure Knoll
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Leisure Knoll is located in Ocean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leisure Knoll
- Pine Ridge at Crestwood
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Leisure Village East
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Cedar Glen West
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Cedar Glen West is located in Ocean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Glen West
- Double Trouble ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Double Trouble is located in Ocean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Double Trouble
- Bayville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Bayville is located in Ocean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayville
- Dover Forge
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Dover Forge is located in Ocean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dover Forge
- Burlington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Country Lake Estates
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Country Lake Estates is located in Burlington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Country Lake Estates
- Browns Mills
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Browns Mills is located in Burlington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browns Mills
- Presidential Lakes Estates
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Chatsworth
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Chatsworth is located in Burlington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatsworth
- Jacobstown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Jacobstown is located in Burlington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacobstown
- Ellisdale
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Ellisdale is located in Burlington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellisdale
- Fort Dix
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Fort Dix is located in Burlington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Dix
- Speedwell
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Speedwell is located in Burlington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Speedwell
- Juliustown
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Juliustown is located in Burlington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Juliustown
- Sooy Place
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Sooy Place is located in Burlington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sooy Place
- Pemberton Heights
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Pemberton Heights is located in Burlington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pemberton Heights
- Chambers Corners
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Chambers Corners is located in Burlington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chambers Corners
- Mercer County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Twin Rivers
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Twin Rivers is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Rivers
- Edinburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Edinburg is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edinburg
- White Horse
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- White Horse is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Horse
- Mercerville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Mercerville is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mercerville
- Rosemont
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Rosemont is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosemont
- Middlesex County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Clearbrook Park
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Clearbrook Park is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clearbrook Park
- Concordia
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Concordia is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concordia
- Cranbury Station
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Cranbury Station is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cranbury Station
- Moerls Corner
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Moerls Corner is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moerls Corner
- Whittingham
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Whittingham is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whittingham
- Cranbury
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Cranbury is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cranbury
- Jamesburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Jamesburg is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamesburg
- Rossmoor
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Rossmoor is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rossmoor
- Brownville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Brownville is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownville
- Princeton Meadows
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Princeton Meadows is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Princeton Meadows
- Monmouth County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Ramtown
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Ramtown is located in Monmouth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ramtown
- Maxim
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Maxim is located in Monmouth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxim
- Allaire Village ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Allaire Village is located in Monmouth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allaire Village
- Allaire Village has also been known as:
- Allaire
- Squankum
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Squankum is located in Monmouth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Squankum
- Allenwood
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Allenwood is located in Monmouth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allenwood
- Ardena
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Ardena is located in Monmouth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ardena
- West Belmar
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- West Belmar is located in Monmouth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Belmar
- Prospertown
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Prospertown is located in Monmouth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prospertown
- Belmar
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Belmar is located in Monmouth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmar
- Shark River Hills
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Shark River Hills is located in Monmouth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shark River Hills
- Hornerstown
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Hornerstown is located in Monmouth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hornerstown
- Avon-by-the-Sea
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Avon-by-the-Sea is located in Monmouth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avon-by-the-Sea
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Oak Ridge, see our County-by-County Page for Oak Ridge.
Cemeteries Near Oak Ridge ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Oak Ridge.
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 Ridge - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Oak Ridge covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Riverside Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- St. Maximillian Kolbe RC Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- St. Joseph Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Cedar Grove Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- B'nai Israel Memorial Park
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Toms River Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Ocean County Memorial Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- St. Marys Of The Lake Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Bayville Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayville Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Bayville Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Bayville.
- The Bayville Cemetery has also been known as:
- Bayview Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1653882 <1>
- Dover Chapel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Silverton Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Olam Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Continue List (93 more) ...
- Old St. John's Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Presbyterian Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Evergreen Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
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>
While we didn't find Oak Ridge in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Oak Ridge.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Toms River
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Toms River is located in Ocean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toms River
- Bayville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Bayville is located in Ocean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayville
- Silverton
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Silverton is located in Ocean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silverton
- Davenport ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Davenport is located in Ocean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davenport
- Whitesville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Whitesville is located in Ocean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitesville
- Osbornsville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Osbornsville is located in Ocean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osbornsville
- Chadwick
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Chadwick is located in Ocean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chadwick
- Lakewood
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Lakewood is located in Ocean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakewood
- Whiting
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Whiting is located in Ocean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiting
- Forked River
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Forked River is located in Ocean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forked River
- Southard
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Southard is located in Monmouth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southard
- Bennetts Mills
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Bennetts Mills is located in Ocean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bennetts Mills
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Bay Head Junction
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Bay Head Junction is located in Ocean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay Head Junction
- West Point Pleasant
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- West Point Pleasant is located in Ocean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Point Pleasant
- Herbertsville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Herbertsville is located in Ocean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herbertsville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Oak Ridge. See our List of 1890's Communities around Oak Ridge.
Newspapers Published in Oak Ridge ...
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 21 newspapers that have been published in the area around Oak Ridge.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Oak Ridge, there are papers which were published within 8 miles [12.9 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Oak Ridge.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 Ridge:
- Websites specific to New Jersey
- Pages specific to Ocean County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Burlington County
- Mercer County
- Middlesex County
- Monmouth County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for New Jersey
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <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 Ridge) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Oak Ridge, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |