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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 Ada (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 Ada. 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.

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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Ada is located in Pontotoc County and is the County Seat.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Pontotoc County: Coal, Garvin, Hughes, Johnston, Murray, Pottawatomie & Seminole.

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

  • Pontotoc County     (The home county of Ada)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ada, with the one closest to Ada listed first.
    • Homer
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Ahloso
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ahloso. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ahloso
      • Ahloso is located in Pontotoc County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Ahloso
      • From Ada to Ahloso
    • Oakman
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Byng
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Byng have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byng
      • Byng is located in Pontotoc County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,204 people
    • Bebee
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Francis
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Fitzhugh
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fitzhugh have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitzhugh
      • Fitzhugh is located in Pontotoc County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 234 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fitzhugh <3>
    • Oil Center
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Fittstown
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Franks
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Franks. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franks
      • Franks is located in Pontotoc County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Franks
      • From Ada to Franks
    • Harden City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harden City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harden City
      • Harden City is located in Pontotoc County
    • Stonewall
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Roff
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Roff have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roff
      • Roff is located in Pontotoc County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 715 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Roff <3>
  • Coal County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ada, with the one closest to Ada listed first.
    • Tupelo
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tupelo have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tupelo
      • Tupelo is located in Coal County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 308 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tupelo <3>
    • Centrahoma
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Centrahoma have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centrahoma
      • Centrahoma is located in Coal County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 92 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Centrahoma <3>
    • Clarita
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Coalgate
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Garvin County
  • Hughes County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ada, with the one closest to Ada listed first.
    • Citra
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Spaulding
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spaulding have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spaulding
      • Spaulding is located in Hughes County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 171 people
    • Gerty
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gerty have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gerty
      • Gerty is located in Hughes County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 109 people
    • Atwood
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Atwood. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atwood
      • Atwood is located in Hughes County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 68 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Atwood <3>
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Atwood
      • From Ada to Atwood
    • Non
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Holdenville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Calvin
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Johnston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ada, with the one closest to Ada listed first.
    • Connerville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Bromide
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bromide have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bromide
      • Bromide is located in Johnston County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 163 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bromide <3>
    • Mill Creek
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mill Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Creek
      • Mill Creek is located in Johnston County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 311 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mill Creek <3>
    • Reagan
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • McClain County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ada, with the one closest to Ada listed first.
    • Byars
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Byars have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byars
      • Byars is located in McClain County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 274 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Byars <3>
    • Rosedale
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rosedale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosedale
      • Rosedale is located in McClain County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 73 people
  • Murray County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ada, with the one closest to Ada listed first.
    • Hickory
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hickory have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory
      • Hickory is located in Murray County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 75 people
    • Sulphur
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Washita
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Pottawatomie County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ada, with the one closest to Ada listed first.
    • Sacred Heart
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Asher
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Asher have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asher
      • Asher is located in Pottawatomie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 418 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Asher <3>
    • Saint Louis
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Louis have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Louis
      • Saint Louis is located in Pottawatomie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 162 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint Louis <3>
    • Wanette
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Maud
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Maud. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maud
      • Maud is located in Pottawatomie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,059 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Maud <3>
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Maud
      • From Ada to Maud
  • Seminole County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ada, with the one closest to Ada listed first.
    • Konawa
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Konawa have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Konawa
      • Konawa is located in Seminole County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,194 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Konawa <3>
    • Sasakwa
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Bowlegs
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Lima
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lima have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lima
      • Lima is located in Seminole County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 51 people
    • Wewoka
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)

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

Cemeteries Near Ada ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ada.

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 Ada covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Old Ada Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Ada Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Ada Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Rosedale Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Puller Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Puller Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Puller Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • High Hill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the High Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the High Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Memorial Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Memorial Park
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Swan Hill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Swan Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Swan Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Athens Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Athens Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Athens Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Egypt Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Egypt Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Egypt Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Oakman Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oakman Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oakman Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Oliver Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oliver Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oliver Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • New Bethel Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the New Bethel Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the New Bethel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Denney Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (178 more) ...
    • Bruner Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bruner Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bruner Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Center Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Center Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Center Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • East Fairview Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the East Fairview Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the East Fairview Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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.<5>

While we didn't find Ada in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Ada.

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

  • Francis
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Sacred Heart
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Romulus
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Romulus have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Romulus
    • Romulus is located in Pottawatomie County
  • Anderson
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Anderson have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson
    • Anderson is located in Pottawatomie County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Ada ...

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 106 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ada.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Ada. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Ada and those printed in the larger area surrounding Ada.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<6> of Ada.

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 Ada:

The official website for Ada: www.adaok.com/

The official website for State of Oklahoma: https://www.ok.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>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.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>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.
<5>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 Ada, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Ada) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ada. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.7745, Longitude: -96.6787    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025