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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 Bray (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 Bray. 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 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.

Bray is located in Stephens County.

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 Stephens County: Carter, Comanche, Cotton, Garvin, Grady & Jefferson.

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

  • Stephens County     (The home county of Bray)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bray, with the one closest to Bray listed first.
    • Marlow
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Duncan
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duncan
      • Duncan is located in Stephens County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 22,259 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Duncan <1>
    • Velma
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Velma have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Velma
      • Velma is located in Stephens County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 595 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Velma <1>
    • Meridian
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Meridian have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meridian
      • Meridian is located in Stephens County
    • Oil City
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oil City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oil City
      • Oil City is located in Stephens County
    • Central High
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Central High have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central High
      • Central High is located in Stephens County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,171 people
    • Empire City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Empire City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Empire City
      • Empire City is located in Stephens County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 889 people
    • Comanche
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Comanche have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comanche
      • Comanche is located in Stephens County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,551 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Comanche <1>
    • Gas City
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gas City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gas City
      • Gas City is located in Stephens County
    • Loco
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Loco have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loco
      • Loco is located in Stephens County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 118 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Loco <1>
  • Caddo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bray, with the one closest to Bray listed first.
    • Cement
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cement have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cement
      • Cement is located in Caddo County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 471 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cement <1>
    • Cyril
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cyril have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cyril
      • Cyril is located in Caddo County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,002 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cyril <1>
  • Carter County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bray, with the one closest to Bray listed first.
    • Tussy
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Countyline
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Ratliff City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ratliff City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ratliff City
      • Ratliff City is located in Carter County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 117 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ratliff City <1>
    • Pruitt City
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pruitt City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pruitt City
      • Pruitt City is located in Carter County
    • Tatums
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tatums have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tatums
      • Tatums is located in Carter County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 149 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tatums <1>
    • Pike City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pike City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pike City
      • Pike City is located in Carter County
    • Fox
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Clemscott
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clemscott
      • Clemscott is located in Carter County
    • Pooleville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Graham
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Comanche County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bray, with the one closest to Bray listed first.
    • Bethel
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
      • Bethel is located in Comanche County
    • Sterling
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Pumpkin Center ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pumpkin Center. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pumpkin Center
      • Pumpkin Center is located in Comanche County
    • Fletcher
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Elgin
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elgin have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elgin
      • Elgin is located in Comanche County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,236 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elgin <1>
  • Cotton County
    • Hulen
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hulen
      • Hulen is located in Cotton County
  • Garvin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bray, with the one closest to Bray listed first.
    • Foster
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Foster have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foster
      • Foster is located in Garvin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 161 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Foster <1>
    • Pernell
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Erin Springs
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Erin Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erin Springs
      • Erin Springs is located in Garvin County
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 87 people
    • Lindsay
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Wallville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallville
      • Wallville is located in Garvin County
    • Antioch
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antioch
      • Antioch is located in Garvin County
    • Elmore City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elmore City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmore City
      • Elmore City is located in Garvin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 753 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elmore City <1>
    • Hennepin
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Katie
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Katie have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Katie
      • Katie is located in Garvin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 354 people
    • Maysville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Grady County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bray, with the one closest to Bray listed first.
    • Cox City
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cox City
      • Cox City is located in Grady County
    • Rush Springs
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rush Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rush Springs
      • Rush Springs is located in Grady County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,252 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rush Springs <1>
    • Bradley
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Alex
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • East Ninnekah
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Ninnekah came from an uncertain source and they still need to be verified:<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Ninnekah
      • East Ninnekah is located in Grady County
    • Ninnekah
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ninnekah have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ninnekah
      • Ninnekah is located in Grady County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,042 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ninnekah <1>
    • Norge
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Norge have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norge
      • Norge is located in Grady County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 154 people
    • Tabler
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tabler
      • Tabler is located in Grady County
    • Chickasha
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Jefferson County
    • Addington
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
  • McClain County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bray, with the one closest to Bray listed first.
    • Payne
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Payne have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Payne
      • Payne is located in McClain County
    • Criner
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Criner
      • Criner is located in McClain County
    • Dibble
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dibble have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dibble
      • Dibble is located in McClain County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 878 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dibble <1>

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

Newspapers Published in Bray ...

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 78 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bray.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bray, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bray.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start 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 Bray:

Cemeteries Near Bray ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bray.

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

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

  • Upchurch Farm Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Cooper Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cooper Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cooper Cemetery
  • Hope Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hope Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hope Cemetery
  • Colbert Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Colbert Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Colbert Cemetery
  • Short Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Short Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Short Cemetery
  • Cruce Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cruce Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cruce Cemetery
  • Owens Prairie Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Owens Prairie Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Owens Prairie Cemetery
  • Bear Creek Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bear Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bear Creek Cemetery
  • Bailey Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bailey Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bailey Cemetery
  • Marlow Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Resthaven Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Resthaven Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Resthaven Cemetery
  • Resthaven Memorial Gardens
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (89 more) ...
    • Old Duncan Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Duncan Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Duncan Cemetery
    • Killgore Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Killgore Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Killgore Cemetery
    • Folsom Foster Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Folsom Foster Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Folsom Foster Cemetery

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

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

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

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 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>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.
<4>If we found a location and have questions about the accuracy of our information, we will simply say that the marker is 'in the vicinity'. We are not confident about the location and the position of our marker is only a rough guide. If we have too many doubts about the location, we will not include it in our database.
<5>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- Bray) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Bray. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.6160, Longitude: -97.8207       In this case, the coordinates for Bray have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>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.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024