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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 Driftwood (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 Driftwood. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Driftwood is located in Alfalfa 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 Alfalfa County: Barber (KS), Harper (KS), Garfield, Grant, Major & Woods.

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

  • Alfalfa County     (The home county of Driftwood)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Driftwood, with the one closest to Driftwood listed first.
    • Byron
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Byron have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byron
      • Byron is located in Alfalfa County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 35 people
    • Burlington
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Burlington have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlington
      • Burlington is located in Alfalfa County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 160 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Burlington <2>
    • Amorita
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Amorita have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amorita
      • Amorita is located in Alfalfa County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 38 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Amorita <2>
    • Ingersoll
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ingersoll
      • Ingersoll is located in Alfalfa County
    • Cherokee
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Yewed
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yewed
      • Yewed is located in Alfalfa County
    • Vining
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vining
      • Vining is located in Alfalfa County
    • Lambert
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lambert
      • Lambert is located in Alfalfa County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6 people
    • Jet
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jet
      • Jet is located in Alfalfa County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 218 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jet <2>
    • Carmen
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Helena
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Helena have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helena
      • Helena is located in Alfalfa County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,417 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Helena <2>
    • Aline
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
  • Garfield County
    • Hillsdale
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsdale
      • Hillsdale is located in Garfield County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 119 people
      • Former name for Hillsdale:
      • Coldwater
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hillsdale <2>
  • Grant County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Driftwood, with the one closest to Driftwood listed first.
    • Sand Creek
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sand Creek. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Creek
      • Sand Creek is located in Grant County
    • Manchester
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Nash
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nash have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nash
      • Nash is located in Grant County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 196 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nash <2>
    • Wakita
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
  • Woods County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Driftwood, with the one closest to Driftwood listed first.
    • Capron
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Capron
      • Capron is located in Woods County
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 23 people
    • Alva
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alva
      • Alva is located in Woods County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,882 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alva <2>
    • Dacoma
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Hopeton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Winchester
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Winchester. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winchester
      • Winchester is located in Woods County
    • Avard
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avard
      • Avard is located in Woods County
  • Barber County (KS)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Driftwood, with the one closest to Driftwood listed first.
    • Kiowa
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kiowa
      • Kiowa is located in Barber County (KS)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 917 people
      • Kiowa has also been known as:
      • Kiowa
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kiowa <2>
    • Hazelton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazelton
      • Hazelton is located in Barber County (KS)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 84 people
    • Stubbs
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stubbs
      • Stubbs is located in Barber County (KS)
    • Hardtner
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Gerlane
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Gerlane. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gerlane
      • Gerlane is located in Barber County (KS)
    • Sharon
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sharon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharon
      • Sharon is located in Barber County (KS)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 142 people
      • Former name for Sharon:
      • Bible Valley
    • Eldred ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Eldred. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eldred
      • Eldred is located in Barber County (KS)
    • Pixley
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pixley. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pixley
      • Pixley is located in Barber County (KS)
    • Medicine Lodge
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Harper County (KS)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Driftwood, with the one closest to Driftwood listed first.
    • Waldron
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Waldron have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldron
      • Waldron is located in Harper County (KS)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10 people
    • Ruella
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ruella have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruella
      • Ruella is located in Harper County (KS)
    • Crisfield
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Crisfield. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crisfield
      • Crisfield is located in Harper County (KS)
    • Attica
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Attica have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Attica
      • Attica is located in Harper County (KS)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 547 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Attica <2>
    • Anthony
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anthony
      • Anthony is located in Harper County (KS)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,032 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Anthony <2>
    • Bluff City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bluff City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City
      • Bluff City is located in Harper County (KS)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 58 people

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

Cemeteries Near Driftwood ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Driftwood.

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

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

  • Driftwood Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Driftwood Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Driftwood Cemetery is located 3 miles [4.8 km]<4> to the northwest of Burlington.
    • The Driftwood Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Driftwood Christian Church Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1990952 <5>
  • Apostolic Christian Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Apostolic Christian Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Apostolic Christian Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<4> to the northwest of Burlington.
    • The Apostolic Christian Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Apostolic Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #97876 <5>
  • Byron - Amorita Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Riverside Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Keith Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Stella Friends Academy Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Bethel Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Cherokee Catholic Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cherokee Catholic Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cherokee Catholic Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Cherokee Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cherokee Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Cherokee Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southeast of Cherokee.
    • The Cherokee Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Cherokee Memorial Park
    • Cherokee Municipal Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1962635 <5>
  • Liberty Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Liberty Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Liberty Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Short Spring Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Short Springs Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Short Springs Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Short Springs Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (67 more) ...
    • Ware Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ware Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Ware Cemetery is located 11 miles [17.7 km]<4> to the southwest of Cherokee.
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #99749 <5>
    • Riverview Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Riverview Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Riverview Cemetery is located outside and to the east of Kiowa (KS).
      • The Riverview Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Kiowa Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #93501 <5>
    • Capron Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Capron Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Capron Cemetery is located outside and to the northeast of Capron.
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #98098 <5>

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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Driftwood had no post office or railroad service.

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

  • Cherokee
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Kiowa
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kiowa
    • Kiowa is located in Barber County (KS)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 917 people
    • Kiowa has also been known as:
    • Kiowa
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kiowa <2>
  • Corwin
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Corwin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corwin
    • Corwin is located in Harper County (KS)
  • Hazelton
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazelton
    • Hazelton is located in Barber County (KS)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 84 people
  • Ruella
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ruella have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruella
    • Ruella is located in Harper County (KS)
  • Alva
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alva
    • Alva is located in Woods County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,882 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alva <2>
  • Jet
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jet
    • Jet is located in Alfalfa County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 218 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jet <2>
  • Hardtner
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
  • Crisfield
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Crisfield. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crisfield
    • Crisfield is located in Harper County (KS)
  • Noel
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Noel have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noel
    • Noel is located in Woods County
  • Helena
    (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Helena have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helena
    • Helena is located in Alfalfa County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,417 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Helena <2>
  • Wakita
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (11 more) ...
    • Winchester
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Winchester. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winchester
      • Winchester is located in Woods County
    • Aline
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Eldred ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Eldred. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eldred
      • Eldred is located in Barber County (KS)

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

Newspapers Published in Driftwood ...

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 90 newspapers that have been published in the area around Driftwood.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Driftwood, 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 Driftwood.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Driftwood:

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

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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>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 from Point A (ie- Driftwood) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Driftwood. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.8792, Longitude: -98.3595       In this case, the coordinates for Driftwood have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>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.
<6>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 Driftwood, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025