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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 Billings (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 Billings. 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 southeast 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 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.

Billings is located in Noble County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Noble County: Garfield, Grant, Kay, Logan, Osage, Pawnee & Payne.

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

  • Noble County     (The home county of Billings)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Billings, with the one closest to Billings listed first.
    • Marland
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Red Rock
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Lucien
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Perry
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Petes Corner
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Petes Corner is located in Noble County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petes Corner
    • Morrison
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Garfield County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Billings, with the one closest to Billings listed first.
    • Garber
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Hunter
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Breckenridge
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Breckenridge is located in Garfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Breckenridge
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 245 people
    • Covington
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Hayward
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Hayward is located in Garfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayward
    • Fairmont
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Douglas
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Kremlin
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • North Enid
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • North Enid is located in Garfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Enid
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 917 people
    • Enid
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Enid is located in Garfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enid
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 49,542 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Enid <1>
    • Hillsdale
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Hillsdale is located in Garfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsdale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 119 people
      • Former name for Hillsdale:
      • Coldwater
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hillsdale <1>
  • Grant County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Billings, with the one closest to Billings listed first.
    • Salt Fork
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Salt Fork is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salt Fork
    • Lamont
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Deer Creek
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Pond Creek
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jefferson
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Jefferson is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8 people
    • Medford
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Renfrow
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Renfrow is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Renfrow
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 12 people
  • Kay County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Billings, with the one closest to Billings listed first.
    • Tonkawa
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Nardin
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • White Eagle
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • White Eagle is located in Kay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Eagle
    • Blackwell
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Ponca City
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Cross ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Cross is located in Kay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cross
    • Braman
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Kildare
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Kildare is located in Kay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kildare
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 94 people
  • Logan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Billings, with the one closest to Billings listed first.
    • Orlando
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Marshall
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
  • Osage County
    • McCord
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • McCord is located in Osage County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCord

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

Cemeteries Near Billings ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Billings.

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 Billings - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Sacred Heart Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Billings Union Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Heitholt Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Floral Ridge Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Riverview Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Mt. Vernon Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Prairie View Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Garber Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Ceres Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Blackbear Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Polo Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polo Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Polo Cemetery is located 9 miles [14.5 km]<3> to the northwest of Perry.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #99287 <2>
  • Mt. Carmel Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (97 more) ...
    • Garber Lutheran Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Tonkawa IOOF Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)

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 Billings in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Billings.

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

  • Garber
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Tonkawa
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Lamont
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Red Rock
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
  • Perry
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
  • Black Bear
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Black Bear is located in Noble County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Bear
  • Blackwell
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Ponca City
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Pond Creek
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Kremlin
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
  • Cross ‑ Historic
    (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Cross is located in Kay County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cross
  • Jefferson
    (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Jefferson is located in Grant County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 8 people
  • Continue List   (8 more) ...
    • Medford
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • North Enid
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • North Enid is located in Garfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Enid
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 917 people
    • Enid
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Enid is located in Garfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enid
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 49,542 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Enid <1>

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Billings ...

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 66 newspapers that have been published in the area around Billings.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Billings. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Billings and those printed in the larger area surrounding Billings.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3> of Billings.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with 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 Billings:

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Billings) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Billings, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.