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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 Joy (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 Joy. 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 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 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.

Joy is located in Murray 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 Murray County: Carter, Garvin, Johnston & Pontotoc.

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

  • Murray County     (The home county of Joy)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Joy, with the one closest to Joy listed first.
    • Washita
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washita
      • Washita is located in Murray County
    • Cedar Village
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Village
      • Cedar Village is located in Murray County
    • Davis
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Davis have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davis
      • Davis is located in Murray County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,854 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Davis <2>
    • Sulphur
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Dougherty
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dougherty have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dougherty
      • Dougherty is located in Murray County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 221 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dougherty <2>
    • Hickory
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hickory have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory
      • Hickory is located in Murray County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 75 people
    • Crusher
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Crusher. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crusher
      • Crusher is located in Murray County
  • Carter County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Joy, with the one closest to Joy listed first.
    • Pooleville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Woodford
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Woodford. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodford
      • Woodford is located in Carter County
    • Springer
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Springer have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springer
      • Springer is located in Carter County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 698 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Springer <2>
    • Tatums
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tatums have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tatums
      • Tatums is located in Carter County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 149 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tatums <2>
    • Milo
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Gene Autry
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gene Autry
      • Gene Autry is located in Carter County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 166 people
      • Former names for Gene Autry:
      • Berwyn
      • Dresden
      • Lou
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gene Autry <2>
    • Ratliff City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ratliff City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ratliff City
      • Ratliff City is located in Carter County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 117 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ratliff City <2>
    • Tussy
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Clemscott
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clemscott
      • Clemscott is located in Carter County
    • Graham
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Pruitt City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pruitt City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pruitt City
      • Pruitt City is located in Carter County
    • Countyline
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Garvin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Joy, with the one closest to Joy listed first.
    • Wynnewood
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Pauls Valley
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Katie
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Katie have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Katie
      • Katie is located in Garvin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 354 people
    • Hennepin
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Whitebead
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitebead
      • Whitebead is located in Garvin County
      • Whitebead has also been known as:
      • White Bead
    • Elmore City
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elmore City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmore City
      • Elmore City is located in Garvin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 753 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elmore City <2>
    • Stratford
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Antioch
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antioch
      • Antioch is located in Garvin County
    • Paoli
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Paoli have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paoli
      • Paoli is located in Garvin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 612 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Paoli <2>
    • Foster
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Foster have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foster
      • Foster is located in Garvin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 161 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Foster <2>
    • Maysville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Pernell
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
  • Johnston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Joy, with the one closest to Joy listed first.
    • Mill Creek
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mill Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Creek
      • Mill Creek is located in Johnston County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 311 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mill Creek <2>
    • Reagan
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reagan
      • Reagan is located in Johnston County
    • Connerville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • McClain County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Joy, with the one closest to Joy listed first.
    • Byars
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Byars have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byars
      • Byars is located in McClain County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 274 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Byars <2>
    • Rosedale
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rosedale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosedale
      • Rosedale is located in McClain County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 73 people
    • Wayne
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Payne
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Payne. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Payne
      • Payne is located in McClain County
  • Pontotoc County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Joy, with the one closest to Joy listed first.
    • Roff
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Roff have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roff
      • Roff is located in Pontotoc County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 715 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Roff <2>
    • Fitzhugh
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fitzhugh have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitzhugh
      • Fitzhugh is located in Pontotoc County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 234 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fitzhugh <2>
    • Bebee
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bebee
      • Bebee is located in Pontotoc County
    • Oil Center
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oil Center
      • Oil Center is located in Pontotoc County
    • Fittstown
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Franks
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Franks. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franks
      • Franks is located in Pontotoc County
    • Ada
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ada
      • Ada is located in Pontotoc County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,239 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ada <2>
    • Ahloso
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ahloso. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ahloso
      • Ahloso is located in Pontotoc County
    • Harden City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harden City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harden City
      • Harden City is located in Pontotoc County
  • Pottawatomie County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Joy, with the one closest to Joy listed first.
    • Wanette
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Asher
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Asher have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asher
      • Asher is located in Pottawatomie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 418 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Asher <2>

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

Cemeteries Near Joy ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Joy.

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

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

  • Oaklawn Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oaklawn Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oaklawn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Wheeler Flats Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wheeler Flats Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wheeler Flats Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Shirley Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Shirley Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Shirley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Wynnewood View Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wynnewood View Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wynnewood View Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Oak Ridge Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oak Ridge Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oak Ridge Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #99116 <4>
  • Howell Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Green Hill Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Oak Ridge Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oak Ridge Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oak Ridge Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Iona Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Iona Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Iona Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Oak Grove Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oak Grove Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oak Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sandy Baptist Church Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sandy Baptist Church Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sandy Baptist Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hopewell Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hopewell Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hopewell Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (134 more) ...
    • State School Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the State School Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the State School Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Klondike Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Klondike Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Klondike Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • James Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the James Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the James Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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.<5>

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

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

  • Woodford
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Woodford. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodford
    • Woodford is located in Carter County
  • Eason
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eason have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eason
    • Eason is located in Pottawatomie County

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

Newspapers Published in Joy ...

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 93 newspapers that have been published in the area around Joy.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Joy, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Joy.

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 professional and volunteer 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 Joy:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Joy. 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>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.
<5>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 Joy, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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- Joy) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Joy. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.5937, Longitude: -97.1422       In this case, the coordinates for Joy have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025