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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 Empire City (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 Empire City. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

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

  • Stephens County     (The home county of Empire City)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Empire City, with the one closest to Empire City listed first.
    • Gas City
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Gas City is located in Stephens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gas City
    • Oil City
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Oil City is located in Stephens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oil City
    • Meridian
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Meridian is located in Stephens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meridian
    • Duncan
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • 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>
    • Comanche
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Central High
      (10 miles [16.1 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
    • Marlow
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Bray
      (16 miles [25.7 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>
    • Velma
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Loco
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • 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
    • Cyril
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Carter County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Empire City, with the one closest to Empire City listed first.
    • Countyline
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Tussy
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Ratliff City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Comanche County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Empire City, with the one closest to Empire City listed first.
    • Bethel
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Bethel is located in Comanche County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
    • Pumpkin Center ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Pumpkin Center is located in Comanche County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pumpkin Center
    • Geronimo
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Sterling
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Lawton
      (21 miles [33.8 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>
    • Artillery Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Artillery Village is located in Comanche County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Artillery Village
    • Fort Sill
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Elgin
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • 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>
    • Fletcher
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Richards Spur ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Richards Spur is located in Comanche County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richards Spur
    • Lakeside Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Lakeside Village is located in Comanche County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeside Village
    • Faxon
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Cotton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Empire City, with the one closest to Empire City listed first.
    • Hulen
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Hulen is located in Cotton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hulen
    • Walters
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • 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>
    • Temple
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Taylor
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Taylor is located in Cotton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylor
    • Cookietown
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Cookietown is located in Cotton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cookietown
    • Randlett
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Grady County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Empire City, with the one closest to Empire City listed first.
    • Rush Springs
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Cox City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Cox City is located in Grady County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cox City
    • Agawam
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Agawam is located in Grady County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Agawam
  • Jefferson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Empire City, with the one closest to Empire City listed first.
    • Addington
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Hastings
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Waurika
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Sugden
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Sugden is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugden
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 41 people
  • Clay County (TX)
    • Byers
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • 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>

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

Cemeteries Near Empire City ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Empire City.

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 Empire City - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Oak Grove Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Duncan Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Comanche Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Rock Creek Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Henderson - Harris Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Folsom Foster Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Fairlawn Cemeteries
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Resthaven Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Resthaven Memorial Gardens
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Corum Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Old Duncan Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Diamond Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (78 more) ...
    • Tucker Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Shakelford Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shakelford Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Shakelford Cemetery is located 5 miles [8 km]<2> to the northeast of Walters.
    • Stoner Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)

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 Empire City in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Empire City.

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

  • Fort Sill
    (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
  • Charlie
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Charlie is located in Clay County (TX)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlie

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

Newspapers Published in Empire City ...

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 96 newspapers that have been published in the area around Empire City.

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

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 Empire City:

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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Empire City) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Empire City, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.