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 Keys (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 Keys. 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 doctors and hospitals 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.
Keys is located in Cherokee 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 Cherokee County: Adair, Mayes, Muskogee, Sequoyah & Wagoner.
Below are the counties that are near Keys. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Keys:
- Cherokee County (The home county of Keys)
- The following are listed by their distance from Keys, with the one closest to Keys listed first.
- Pettit
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Pettit is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pettit
- Carters Landing
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Carters Landing is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carters Landing
- Pettit Bay
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Pettit Bay is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pettit Bay
- Park Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Tsa La Gi Indian Village
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Tenkiller
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Tenkiller is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tenkiller
- Caney Ridge
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Caney Ridge is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caney Ridge
- Zeb
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Zeb is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zeb
- Welling
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Woodall
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Woodall is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodall
- Barber
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Barber is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barber
- Cookson
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Dry Creek
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Dry Creek is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Creek
- Adair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Keys, with the one closest to Keys listed first.
- Rocky Mountain
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Rocky Mountain is located in Adair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Mountain
- Wauhillau
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Wauhillau is located in Adair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wauhillau
- Lyons
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Lyons is located in Adair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyons
- Lyons has also been known as:
- Lyons Switch
- Bunch
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Proctor
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Marietta
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Greasy
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Greasy is located in Adair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greasy
- Cherry Tree
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Cherry Tree is located in Adair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Tree
- Zion
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Zion is located in Adair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zion
- Stilwell
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- West Peavine
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- West Peavine is located in Adair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Peavine
- Christie
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Christie is located in Adair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christie
- Fairfield
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Fairfield is located in Adair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield
- Delaware County
- The following are listed by their distance from Keys, with the one closest to Keys listed first.
- Oaks
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Rocky Ford
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Rocky Ford is located in Delaware County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Ford
- Leach
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Leach is located in Delaware County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leach
- Twin Oaks
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Kansas
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Flint Creek
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Flint Creek is located in Delaware County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint Creek
- Beckwith
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Beckwith is located in Delaware County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beckwith
- Dripping Springs
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Dripping Springs is located in Delaware County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dripping Springs
- Haskell County
- Tamaha
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Tamaha is located in Haskell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tamaha
- Population from the 2020 Census: 235 people
- Mayes County
- The following are listed by their distance from Keys, with the one closest to Keys listed first.
- Iron Post
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Iron Post is located in Mayes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Post
- Ballou
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Ballou is located in Mayes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballou
- Cedar Crest
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Cedar Crest is located in Mayes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Crest
- Snake Creek
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Snake Creek is located in Mayes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snake Creek
- Murphy
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Murphy is located in Mayes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murphy
- Pin Oaks Acres
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Pin Oaks Acres is located in Mayes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pin Oaks Acres
- Rose
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Locust Grove
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Mazie
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Muskogee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Keys, with the one closest to Keys listed first.
- Braggs
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Sour John
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Sour John is located in Muskogee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sour John
- Fort Gibson
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- River Bottom
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- River Bottom is located in Muskogee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Bottom
- Bacone
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Bacone is located in Muskogee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bacone
- Wybark
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Wybark is located in Muskogee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wybark
- Webbers Falls
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Muskogee
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Summit
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Summit is located in Muskogee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
- Population from the 2020 Census: 136 people
- Warner
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Sequoyah County
- The following are listed by their distance from Keys, with the one closest to Keys listed first.
- Evening Shade
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Evening Shade is located in Sequoyah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evening Shade
- Paradise Hill
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Paradise Hill is located in Sequoyah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 80 people
- Box
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Box is located in Sequoyah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Box
- Flute Springs
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Flute Springs is located in Sequoyah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flute Springs
- Redbird Smith
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Redbird Smith is located in Sequoyah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redbird Smith
- Marble City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Dwight Mission
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Dwight Mission is located in Sequoyah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dwight Mission
- Pinhook Corners
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Pinhook Corners is located in Sequoyah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinhook Corners
- Marble City Community
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Gore
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Carlisle
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Carlisle is located in Sequoyah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlisle
- Vian
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Brushy
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Brushy is located in Sequoyah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brushy
- Wagoner County
- The following are listed by their distance from Keys, with the one closest to Keys listed first.
- Mallard Bay
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Mallard Bay is located in Wagoner County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mallard Bay
- Okay
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Gibson
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Gibson is located in Wagoner County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibson
- Anchor
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Anchor is located in Wagoner County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anchor
- Wagoner
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Tullahassee
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Tullahassee is located in Wagoner County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tullahassee
- Clarksville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Clarksville is located in Wagoner County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarksville
- Washington County (AR)
- The following are listed by their distance from Keys, with the one closest to Keys listed first.
- Evansville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Evansville is located in Washington County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evansville
- Dutch Mills
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Dutch Mills is located in Washington County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutch Mills
- Summers
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Summers is located in Washington County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summers
- Morrow
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Morrow is located in Washington County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrow
- Cincinnati
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Cincinnati is located in Washington County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cincinnati
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Keys, see our County-by-County Page for Keys.
Cemeteries Near Keys ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Keys.
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 Keys - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Keys covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Keys, with the one closest to Keys listed first.
- Pettit Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Chambers Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Park Hill Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Ross Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ross Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Ross Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 4 miles [6.4 km]<2> to the south of Tahlequah.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #99416 <3>
- Worcester Mission Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worcester Mission Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Worcester Mission Cemetery is located 4 miles [6.4 km]<2> to the south of Tahlequah.
- The Worcester Mission Cemetery has also been known as:
- Park Hill Mission Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #875435 <3>
- Park Hill Mission Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Greenleaf Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Hendricks Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Price Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Lowrey Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- White Oak Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Cookson Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Continue List (236 more) ...
- Barber Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Steeley Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Jones Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 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 Keys in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Keys.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Keys, with the one closest to Keys listed first.
- Lyons
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Lyons is located in Adair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyons
- Lyons has also been known as:
- Lyons Switch
- Martin
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Martin is located in Muskogee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martin
- Seven Oaks
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Seven Oaks is located in Sequoyah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Oaks
- Evansville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Evansville is located in Washington County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evansville
- Tolu
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Tolu is located in Washington County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tolu
- Dutch Mills
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Dutch Mills is located in Washington County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutch Mills
- Sexton ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Sexton is located in Washington County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sexton
- Summers
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Summers is located in Washington County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summers
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Keys. See our List of 1890's Communities around Keys.
Newspapers Published in Keys ...
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 85 newspapers that have been published in the area around Keys.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Keys, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Keys.
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 Keys:
- Websites specific to Oklahoma
- Pages specific to Cherokee County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Adair County
- Delaware County
- Haskell County
- Mayes County
- Muskogee County
- Sequoyah County
- Wagoner County
- Washington County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Oklahoma
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 drawn from Point A (ie- Keys) 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 Keys, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |