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A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals 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.

Bray is located in Stephens 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 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)
      • Duncan is located in Stephens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duncan
      • 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)
    • Meridian
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Meridian is located in Stephens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meridian
    • Oil City
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Oil City is located in Stephens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oil City
    • Central High
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Central High is located in Stephens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central High
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,171 people
    • Empire City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Empire City is located in Stephens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Empire City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 889 people
    • Comanche
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Gas City
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Gas City is located in Stephens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gas City
    • Loco
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Loco is located in Stephens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loco
      • 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)
    • Cyril
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • 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)
    • Pruitt City
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Pruitt City is located in Carter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pruitt City
    • Tatums
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Pike City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Pike City is located in Carter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pike City
    • Fox
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Clemscott
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Clemscott is located in Carter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clemscott
    • 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)
      • Bethel is located in Comanche County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
    • Sterling
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Pumpkin Center ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Pumpkin Center is located in Comanche County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pumpkin Center
    • Fletcher
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Elgin
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Elgin is located in Comanche County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elgin
      • 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)
      • Hulen is located in Cotton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hulen
  • 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)
    • Pernell
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Erin Springs
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Erin Springs is located in Garvin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erin Springs
      • 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)
      • Wallville is located in Garvin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallville
    • Satterwhite
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Satterwhite is located in Garvin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Satterwhite
    • Antioch
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Antioch is located in Garvin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antioch
    • Elmore City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Hennepin
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Katie
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Katie is located in Garvin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Katie
      • 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)
      • Cox City is located in Grady County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cox City
    • Rush Springs
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Agawam
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Agawam is located in Grady County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Agawam
    • 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)
      • East Ninnekah is located in Grady County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Ninnekah
    • Ninnekah
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Norge
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Norge is located in Grady County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norge
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 154 people
    • Tabler
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Tabler is located in Grady County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tabler
    • 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)
      • Payne is located in McClain County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Payne
    • Criner
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Criner is located in McClain County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Criner
    • Dibble
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)

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

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

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)
  • Hope Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Colbert Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Short Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Cruce Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Owens Prairie Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Bear Creek Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Bailey Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Marlow Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Resthaven Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • 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)
    • Killgore Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Folsom Foster Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)

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.

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]<2>. 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 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:

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) 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. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.