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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 Forrester (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 Forrester. 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 southeast 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 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 east 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.

Forrester is located in Le Flore 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 Le Flore County: Polk (AR), Scott (AR), Sebastian (AR), Haskell, Latimer, McCurtain, Pushmataha & Sequoyah.

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

  • Le Flore County     (The home county of Forrester)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forrester, with the one closest to Forrester listed first.
    • Heavener
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Petros
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Petros is located in Le Flore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petros
    • Hodgen
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Hodgen is located in Le Flore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hodgen
      • Former name for Hodgen:
      • Hodgens
      • Hodgen has also been known as:
      • Hodgens Station
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hodgen <1>
    • Monroe
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Howe
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Howe is located in Le Flore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howe
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 788 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Howe <1>
    • Conser
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Conser is located in Le Flore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conser
    • Wister
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Poteau
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Big Cedar
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Big Cedar is located in Le Flore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Cedar
    • Cameron
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Shady Point
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Muse
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Summerfield
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
  • Latimer County
    • Bengal
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Bengal is located in Latimer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bengal
  • McCurtain County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forrester, with the one closest to Forrester listed first.
    • Smithville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Watson
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Logan County (AR)
    • Lucas
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Lucas is located in Logan County (AR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucas
  • Polk County (AR)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forrester, with the one closest to Forrester listed first.
    • Rich Mountain
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Rich Mountain is located in Polk County (AR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rich Mountain
    • Mountain Fork
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Mountain Fork is located in Polk County (AR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Fork
    • Potter
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Potter is located in Polk County (AR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Potter
    • Mena
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Mena is located in Polk County (AR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mena
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,410 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mena <1>
    • Potter Junction
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Potter Junction is located in Polk County (AR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Potter Junction
    • Hatfield
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Dallas
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Dallas is located in Polk County (AR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dallas
    • Cove
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Cove is located in Polk County (AR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cove
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 370 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cove <1>
  • Scott County (AR)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forrester, with the one closest to Forrester listed first.
    • Bates
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Bates is located in Scott County (AR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bates
    • Winfield
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Winfield is located in Scott County (AR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winfield
    • Gate ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Gate is located in Scott County (AR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gate
    • Waldron
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Waldron is located in Scott County (AR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldron
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,335 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Waldron <1>
    • Boles
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Y City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Y City is located in Scott County (AR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Y City
  • Sebastian County (AR)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forrester, with the one closest to Forrester listed first.
    • Hartford
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Hartford is located in Sebastian County (AR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 623 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hartford <1>
    • Frog Town
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Frog Town is located in Sebastian County (AR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frog Town
    • Midland
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Midland is located in Sebastian County (AR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 322 people
    • Huntington
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Huntington is located in Sebastian County (AR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntington
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 615 people
    • Mansfield
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Mansfield is located in Sebastian County (AR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mansfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,089 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mansfield <1>
    • Hackett
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Hackett is located in Sebastian County (AR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hackett
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 837 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hackett <1>
    • Bonanza
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Bonanza is located in Sebastian County (AR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonanza
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 560 people
    • Greenwood
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Greenwood is located in Sebastian County (AR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,396 people
    • Jenny Lind
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Jenny Lind is located in Sebastian County (AR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jenny Lind
    • Buell
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Buell is located in Sebastian County (AR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buell

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

Cemeteries Near Forrester ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Forrester.

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

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

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

  • Loving Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Burns Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burns Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Burns Cemetery is located 5 miles [8 km]<2> to the east of Heavener.
    • The Burns Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Forrester Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2536934 <3>
  • Hill Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Oakdale Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Heavener Memorial Park
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Perry Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Hodgen Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Weeks Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Black Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Big Creek Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Black Fork Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Springhill Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (155 more) ...
    • Haw Creek Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Gipson Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Sliger Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 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.<4>

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

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

  • Gipson
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Gipson is located in Scott County (AR)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gipson
  • Black Fork
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Black Fork is located in Scott County (AR)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Fork
  • Brawley
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Brawley is located in Scott County (AR)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brawley
  • Cauthron
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Cauthron is located in Scott County (AR)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cauthron
  • Hartford
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Hartford is located in Sebastian County (AR)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartford
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 623 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hartford <1>
  • Rich Mountain
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Rich Mountain is located in Polk County (AR)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rich Mountain
  • Mountain Fork
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Mountain Fork is located in Polk County (AR)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Fork
  • Blansett
    (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Blansett is located in Scott County (AR)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blansett
  • Winfield
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Winfield is located in Scott County (AR)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winfield
  • Montreal
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Montreal is located in Sebastian County (AR)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montreal
  • Mansfield
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Mansfield is located in Sebastian County (AR)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mansfield
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,089 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mansfield <1>
  • Huntington
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Huntington is located in Sebastian County (AR)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntington
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 615 people
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Rocky
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Rocky is located in Polk County (AR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky
    • Hackett
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Hackett is located in Sebastian County (AR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hackett
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 837 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hackett <1>
    • Jenson
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Jenson is located in Sebastian County (AR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jenson

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

Newspapers Published in Forrester ...

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 64 newspapers that have been published in the area around Forrester.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Forrester, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Forrester.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we 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 Forrester:

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- Forrester) 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 Forrester, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.