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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 Elmer (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 Elmer. 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 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.

Elmer is located in Jackson 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 Jackson County: Greer, Harmon, Kiowa, Tillman, Hardeman (TX) & Wilbarger (TX).

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

  • Jackson County     (The home county of Elmer)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Elmer, with the one closest to Elmer listed first.
    • Hess
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Hess is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hess
    • Olustee
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Humphreys
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Humphreys is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Humphreys
    • Altus
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Altus is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altus
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 18,162 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Altus <1>
    • Victory
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Victory is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Victory
    • Headrick
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Martha
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Friendship
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Friendship is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendship
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 22 people
    • Eldorado
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Duke
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • East Duke
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • East Duke is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Duke
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 383 people
    • Blair
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
  • Greer County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Elmer, with the one closest to Elmer listed first.
    • Hester
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Hester is located in Greer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hester
    • Mangum
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
  • Harmon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Elmer, with the one closest to Elmer listed first.
    • Louis ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Louis is located in Harmon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Louis
    • Gould
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Kiowa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Elmer, with the one closest to Elmer listed first.
    • Snyder
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Mountain Park
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Lugert ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Lugert is located in Kiowa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lugert
  • Tillman County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Elmer, with the one closest to Elmer listed first.
    • Tipton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Frederick
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Manitou
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Davidson
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Hollister
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  • Foard County (TX)
    • Rayland
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Rayland is located in Foard County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rayland
  • Hardeman County (TX)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Elmer, with the one closest to Elmer listed first.
    • Chillicothe
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Medicine Mound ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Medicine Mound is located in Hardeman County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medicine Mound
    • Quanah
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Quanah is located in Hardeman County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quanah
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,533 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Quanah <1>
  • Wilbarger County (TX)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Elmer, with the one closest to Elmer listed first.
    • Odell
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Fargo
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Fargo is located in Wilbarger County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fargo
    • White City
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • White City is located in Wilbarger County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
    • Tolbert ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Tolbert is located in Wilbarger County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tolbert
    • Vernon
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Vernon is located in Wilbarger County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vernon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,138 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vernon <1>
    • Oklaunion
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Lockett
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Lockett is located in Wilbarger County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lockett
    • Elliott
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Elliott is located in Wilbarger County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliott

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

Cemeteries Near Elmer ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Elmer.

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

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

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

  • Elmer Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Hess Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Olustee Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Boggy Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Bell Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Bell Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 3 miles [4.8 km]<2> to the northeast of Odell (TX).
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2318 <3>
  • Francis Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Carmel Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Aaron Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Frazier Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Victory Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Odema Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Tipton Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (52 more) ...
    • Altus City Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Restlawn Memorial Park
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Prairie Hill Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 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.<4>

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

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

  • Hess
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Hess is located in Jackson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hess
  • Doans
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Doans is located in Wilbarger County (TX)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doans
  • Victory
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Victory is located in Jackson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Victory
  • Altus
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Altus is located in Jackson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altus
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 18,162 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Altus <1>
  • Martha
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
  • Eldorado
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
  • Duke
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Chillicothe
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
  • Tolbert ‑ Historic
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Tolbert is located in Wilbarger County (TX)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tolbert
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • Vernon
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Vernon is located in Wilbarger County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vernon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,138 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vernon <1>
    • Quanah
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Quanah is located in Hardeman County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quanah
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,533 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Quanah <1>
    • Louis ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Louis is located in Harmon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Louis
    • Oklaunion
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Mangum
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Rayland
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Rayland is located in Foard County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rayland

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Elmer ...

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 107 newspapers that have been published in the area around Elmer.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Elmer. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Elmer and those printed in the larger area surrounding Elmer.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<2> of Elmer.

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 helpful 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 Elmer:

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 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Elmer) 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.
<4>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 Elmer, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.