RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Oklahoma >> Stephens County >> Comanche >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Comanche (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 Comanche. 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.

Comanche 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 Comanche. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Comanche:

  • Stephens County     (The home county of Comanche)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Comanche, with the one closest to Comanche listed first.
    • Meridian
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Meridian is located in Stephens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meridian
    • Empire City
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Empire City is located in Stephens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Empire City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 889 people
    • Gas City
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Gas City is located in Stephens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gas City
    • Duncan
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • 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>
    • Oil City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Oil City is located in Stephens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oil City
    • Loco
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • 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>
    • Central High
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Central High is located in Stephens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central High
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,171 people
    • Velma
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Marlow
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Bray
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Bray is located in Stephens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bray
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,178 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bray <1>
  • Carter County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Comanche, with the one closest to Comanche listed first.
    • Countyline
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Tussy
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Fox
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Pike City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Pike City is located in Carter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pike City
    • Pruitt City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Pruitt City is located in Carter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pruitt City
    • Ratliff City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Clemscott
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Clemscott is located in Carter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clemscott
    • Healdton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Tatums
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Comanche County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Comanche, with the one closest to Comanche listed first.
    • Bethel
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Bethel is located in Comanche County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
    • Pumpkin Center ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Pumpkin Center is located in Comanche County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pumpkin Center
    • Geronimo
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Sterling
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Lawton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Lawton is located in Comanche County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 93,164 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lawton <1>
  • Cotton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Comanche, with the one closest to Comanche listed first.
    • Temple
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Hulen
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Hulen is located in Cotton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hulen
    • Walters
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Walters is located in Cotton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walters
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,357 people
      • Former name for Walters:
      • Walter
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Walters <1>
    • Taylor
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Taylor is located in Cotton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylor
    • Cookietown
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Cookietown is located in Cotton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cookietown
    • Randlett
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Garvin County
  • Grady County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Comanche, with the one closest to Comanche listed first.
    • Rush Springs
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Cox City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Cox City is located in Grady County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cox City
  • Jefferson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Comanche, with the one closest to Comanche listed first.
    • Addington
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Hastings
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Waurika
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Sugden
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Sugden is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugden
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 41 people
    • Ryan
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Ryan is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ryan
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 744 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ryan <1>
    • Cornish
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Cornish is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 154 people
    • Ringling
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Grady
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Grady is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grady
    • Oscar
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Clay County (TX)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Comanche, with the one closest to Comanche listed first.
    • Byers
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Byers is located in Clay County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byers
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 454 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Byers <1>
    • Petrolia
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Comanche ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Comanche.

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

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

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

  • Fairlawn Cemeteries
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Diamond Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Tucker Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Oak Grove Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Henderson - Harris Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Stoner Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Corum Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Addington Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Addington Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Addington Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the south of Addington.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #97846 <2>
  • Woolsey Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Duncan Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Weaver Chapel Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Hastings Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (70 more) ...
    • Hastings Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Old Duncan Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Comanche Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 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.<3>

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

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

  • Charlie
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Charlie is located in Clay County (TX)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlie
  • Hurnville
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Hurnville is located in Clay County (TX)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hurnville

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Comanche ...

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 62 newspapers that have been published in the area around Comanche.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Comanche. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Comanche and those printed in the larger area surrounding Comanche.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4> of Comanche.

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 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 Comanche:

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 Comanche, 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' (or 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- Comanche) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.