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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 Center (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 Center. 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.

Center is located in Pontotoc 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 Pontotoc County: Coal, Garvin, Hughes, Johnston, Murray, Pottawatomie & Seminole.

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

  • Pontotoc County     (The home county of Center)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Center, with the one closest to Center listed first.
    • Bebee
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Bebee is located in Pontotoc County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bebee
    • Oil Center
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Oil Center is located in Pontotoc County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oil Center
    • Ada
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Ada is located in Pontotoc County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ada
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,239 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ada <1>
    • Byng
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Byng is located in Pontotoc County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byng
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,204 people
    • Fitzhugh
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Homer
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Homer is located in Pontotoc County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homer
    • Oakman
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Oakman is located in Pontotoc County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakman
    • Roff
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Roff is located in Pontotoc County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roff
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 715 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Roff <1>
    • Ahloso
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Ahloso is located in Pontotoc County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ahloso
    • Francis
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Fittstown
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Franks
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Franks is located in Pontotoc County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franks
  • Cleveland County
    • Etowah
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Etowah is located in Cleveland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etowah
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 93 people
  • Coal County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Center, with the one closest to Center listed first.
    • Tupelo
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Centrahoma
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Clarita
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Garvin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Center, with the one closest to Center listed first.
    • Stratford
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Wynnewood
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Pauls Valley
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Paoli
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Whitebead
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Whitebead is located in Garvin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitebead
      • Whitebead has also been known as:
      • White Bead
  • Hughes County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Center, with the one closest to Center listed first.
    • Citra
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Citra is located in Hughes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Citra
    • Spaulding
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Spaulding is located in Hughes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spaulding
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 171 people
    • Atwood
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Gerty
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Gerty is located in Hughes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gerty
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 109 people
    • Holdenville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Johnston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Center, with the one closest to Center listed first.
    • Connerville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Mill Creek
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
  • McClain County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Center, with the one closest to Center listed first.
    • Byars
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Rosedale
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Rosedale is located in McClain County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosedale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 73 people
    • Wayne
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Murray County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Center, with the one closest to Center listed first.
    • Hickory
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Hickory is located in Murray County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 75 people
    • Sulphur
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Washita
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Washita is located in Murray County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washita
    • Cedar Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Cedar Village is located in Murray County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Village
    • Dougherty
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Pottawatomie County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Center, with the one closest to Center listed first.
    • Sacred Heart
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Sacred Heart is located in Pottawatomie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sacred Heart
    • Asher
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Asher is located in Pottawatomie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asher
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 418 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Asher <1>
    • Wanette
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Saint Louis
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Maud
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Maud is located in Pottawatomie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maud
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,059 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Maud <1>
    • Macomb
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Macomb is located in Pottawatomie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macomb
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 33 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Macomb <1>
    • Tribbey
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Tribbey is located in Pottawatomie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tribbey
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 422 people
    • Brooksville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Brooksville is located in Pottawatomie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooksville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 57 people
  • Seminole County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Center, with the one closest to Center listed first.
    • Konawa
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Sasakwa
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Bowlegs
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Lima
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Lima is located in Seminole County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lima
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 51 people
    • Wewoka
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Center ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Center.

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

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

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

  • Center Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Moss Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Box X Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Athens Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Memorial Park
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Swan Hill Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Midland Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Egypt Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Lightning Ridge Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Hart Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Old Ada Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Rosedale Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (184 more) ...
    • Maxwell Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • East Fairview Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Tiger Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)

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>

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

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

  • Francis
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Sacred Heart
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Sacred Heart is located in Pottawatomie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sacred Heart
  • Romulus
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Romulus is located in Pottawatomie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Romulus
  • Anderson
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Anderson is located in Pottawatomie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson
  • Eason
    (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Eason is located in Pottawatomie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eason

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

Newspapers Published in Center ...

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 103 newspapers that have been published in the area around Center.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Center, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Center.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Center:

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 Center, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Center) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.