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 Harbor (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 Harbor. 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 Harbor ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Oak Harbor: Oak Hbr. (or less commonly used: Oak Harb. or Oak Hrbr.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Oak Harbor. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Oak Harbor.
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 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.
Oak Harbor is located in Ottawa County.
To see how the shape of Ohio's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Ottawa County: Erie, Lucas, Sandusky & Wood.
Below are the counties that are near Oak Harbor. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Oak Harbor:
- Ottawa County (The home county of Oak Harbor)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Harbor, with the one closest to Oak Harbor listed first.
- Lacarne
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Lacarne is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacarne
- Rocky Ridge
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Rocky Ridge is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Ridge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 407 people
- Locust Point
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Locust Point is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Point
- Elmore
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Port Clinton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Genoa
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Martin
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Clay Center
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Clay Center is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clay Center
- Population from the 2020 Census: 299 people
- Gypsum
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Curtice
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Danbury
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Danbury is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danbury
- Catawba Island
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Catawba Island is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catawba Island
- Violet ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Violet is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Violet
- Erie County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Harbor, with the one closest to Oak Harbor listed first.
- Bay View
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Castalia
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Venice
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Venice is located in Erie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Venice
- Sandusky
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Kelleys Island
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Fairview Lanes
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Fairview Lanes is located in Erie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview Lanes
- Bogart
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Bogart is located in Erie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bogart
- Avery
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Avery is located in Erie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avery
- Huron
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- North Milan
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- North Milan is located in Erie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Milan
- Huron County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Harbor, with the one closest to Oak Harbor listed first.
- Hunts Corners
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Hunts Corners is located in Huron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunts Corners
- Hunts Corners has also been known as:
- Moorehead
- Monroeville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Lucas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Harbor, with the one closest to Oak Harbor listed first.
- Bono
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Bono is located in Lucas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bono
- Yondota
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Yondota is located in Lucas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yondota
- Immergrun
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Immergrun is located in Lucas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Immergrun
- Oregon
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Harbor View
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Harbor View is located in Lucas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harbor View
- Population from the 2020 Census: 108 people
- East Toledo
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- East Toledo is located in Lucas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Toledo
- Ironville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Ironville is located in Lucas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ironville
- Willow Beach
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Willow Beach is located in Lucas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Beach
- Toledo
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Air Line Junction
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Air Line Junction is located in Lucas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Air Line Junction
- West Toledo
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- West Toledo is located in Lucas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Toledo
- Auburndale ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Auburndale is located in Lucas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auburndale
- Maumee
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Sandusky County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Harbor, with the one closest to Oak Harbor listed first.
- Kingsway
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Kingsway is located in Sandusky County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsway
- Shorewood Village
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Shorewood Village is located in Sandusky County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shorewood Village
- Lindsey
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Fremont
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Stony Prairie
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Stony Prairie is located in Sandusky County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Prairie
- Erlin
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Erlin is located in Sandusky County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erlin
- Ballville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Ballville is located in Sandusky County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballville
- Gabels Corner
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Gabels Corner is located in Sandusky County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gabels Corner
- Green Creek
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Green Creek is located in Sandusky County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Creek
- Gibsonburg
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Woodville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Vickery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Vickery is located in Sandusky County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vickery
- Helena
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Seneca County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Harbor, with the one closest to Oak Harbor listed first.
- Green Springs
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Bettsville
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Fort Seneca
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Fort Seneca is located in Seneca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Seneca
- Linden ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Linden is located in Seneca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linden
- Maple Grove
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Maple Grove is located in Seneca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Grove
- Watson
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Watson is located in Seneca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watson
- Watson has also been known as:
- Watson Station
- Watsons Station
- Cromers
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Cromers is located in Seneca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cromers
- Flat Rock
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Flat Rock is located in Seneca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Rock
- West Lodi
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- West Lodi is located in Seneca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Lodi
- Bascom
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Republic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Tiffin
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Fostoria
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Wood County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Harbor, with the one closest to Oak Harbor listed first.
- Millbury
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Lemoyne
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Lemoyne is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lemoyne
- Luckey
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Pemberville
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Walbridge
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Bradner
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Northwood
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Risingsun
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Risingsun is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Risingsun
- Population from the 2020 Census: 630 people
- Risingsun has also been known as:
- Risingsun village
- Wayne
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Arbor Hills
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Arbor Hills is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arbor Hills
- Lime City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Lime City is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lime City
- Bates
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Bates is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bates
- Dowling
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Dowling is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dowling
- Monroe County (MI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Harbor, with the one closest to Oak Harbor listed first.
- Havre
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Havre is located in Monroe County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Havre
- Vienna Junction
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Vienna Junction is located in Monroe County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vienna Junction
- Luna Pier
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Vienna
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Vienna is located in Monroe County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vienna
- Erie
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Liberty Corners
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Liberty Corners is located in Monroe County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Corners
- Hillcrest Orchard
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Hillcrest Orchard is located in Monroe County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillcrest Orchard
- Temperance
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Detroit Beach
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Detroit Beach is located in Monroe County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Detroit Beach
- La Salle
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Lambertville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Samaria
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Samaria is located in Monroe County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Samaria
- South Monroe
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- South Monroe is located in Monroe County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Monroe
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Oak Harbor, see our County-by-County Page for Oak Harbor.
Cemeteries Near Oak Harbor ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Oak Harbor.
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 Harbor - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Oak Harbor covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Oak Harbor, with the one closest to Oak Harbor listed first.
- Roose Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Rusha Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Union Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Cemetery
- The Union Cemetery has also been known as:
- Oak Harbor Union Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #825989 <2>
- Hineline Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Faith Lutheran Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Faith Lutheran Cemetery
- The Faith Lutheran Cemetery has also been known as:
- Mud Creek Hetrick Cemetery
- St. Pauls Cemetery
- St. Joseph Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Greenwood Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Trinity Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Lacarpe Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Limestone Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Brier Hill Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- St. Philomena Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (256 more) ...
- Locust Point Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Union Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Overmyer Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Oak Harbor had a population of 1,681 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Oak Harbor had a population of 2,692 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Oak Harbor, with the one closest to Oak Harbor listed first.
- Lacarne
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Lacarne is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacarne
- Rocky Ridge
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Rocky Ridge is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Ridge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 407 people
- Limestone
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Limestone is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Limestone
- Kingsway
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Kingsway is located in Sandusky County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsway
- Lindsey
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Locust Point
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Locust Point is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Point
- Graytown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Graytown is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graytown
- Elmore
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Elliston
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Elliston is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliston
- Hessville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Hessville is located in Sandusky County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hessville
- Trowbridge
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Trowbridge is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trowbridge
- Fremont
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Port Clinton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Erlin
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Erlin is located in Sandusky County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erlin
- Martin
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Oak Harbor. See our List of 1890's Communities around Oak Harbor.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Oak Harbor ...
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 123 newspapers that have been published in the area around Oak Harbor.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Oak Harbor. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Oak Harbor and those printed in the larger area surrounding Oak Harbor.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<4> of Oak Harbor.
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 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 Harbor:
- Websites specific to Ohio
- Pages specific to Ottawa County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Erie County
- Huron County
- Lucas County
- Sandusky County
- Seneca County
- Wood County
- Monroe County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Ohio
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> | 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 Harbor, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Oak Harbor) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |