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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 Lake West (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 Lake West. 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.

Name Variations for Lake West ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Lake West: Lk. West

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

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 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.

Lake West is located in Bryan 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 Bryan County: Atoka, Choctaw, Johnston, Marshall, Fannin (TX), Grayson (TX) & Lamar (TX).

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

  • Bryan County     (The home county of Lake West)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lake West, with the one closest to Lake West listed first.
    • Bennington
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Wade
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Wade is located in Bryan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wade
    • Albany
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Bokchito
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Matoy
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Matoy is located in Bryan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matoy
    • Yuba
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Yuba is located in Bryan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yuba
    • Yarnaby
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Yarnaby is located in Bryan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yarnaby
    • Caddo
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Armstrong
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Armstrong is located in Bryan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armstrong
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 111 people
    • Kemp
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Achille
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Durant
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Atoka County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lake West, with the one closest to Lake West listed first.
    • Lone Pine
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Lone Pine is located in Atoka County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Pine
    • Bentley
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Bentley is located in Atoka County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bentley
    • Farris
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Lane
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Caney
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Choctaw County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lake West, with the one closest to Lake West listed first.
    • Boswell
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Soper
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Grant
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Hugo
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Hugo is located in Choctaw County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hugo
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,070 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hugo <1>
  • Pushmataha County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lake West, with the one closest to Lake West listed first.
    • Antlers
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Ethel
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Ethel is located in Pushmataha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ethel
  • Delta County (TX)
  • Fannin County (TX)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lake West, with the one closest to Lake West listed first.
    • Telephone
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Carson
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Carson is located in Fannin County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carson
    • Allen Point
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Allen Point is located in Fannin County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allen Point
    • Allens Chapel
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Allens Chapel is located in Fannin County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allens Chapel
    • Ivanhoe
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Sowells Bluff
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Sowells Bluff is located in Fannin County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sowells Bluff
    • Honey Grove
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Ridings
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Ridings is located in Fannin County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridings
    • Windom
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Windom is located in Fannin County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windom
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 207 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Windom <1>
    • Boyd
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Boyd is located in Fannin County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyd
    • Dodd City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Mulberry
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Mulberry is located in Fannin County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mulberry
  • Lamar County (TX)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lake West, with the one closest to Lake West listed first.
    • Direct
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Direct is located in Lamar County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Direct
    • Garretts Bluff
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Garretts Bluff is located in Lamar County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garretts Bluff
    • Belk
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Belk is located in Lamar County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belk
    • Razor
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Razor is located in Lamar County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Razor
    • Sumner
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Chicota
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Caviness
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Caviness is located in Lamar County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caviness
    • Hopewell
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Hopewell is located in Lamar County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell
    • Petty
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Arthur City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Camp Maxey ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Camp Maxey is located in Lamar County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camp Maxey
    • Brookston
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Lake West ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Lake West.

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 Lake West - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Crowder Springs Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Crowder Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Arch Chapel Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Forest Grove Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Pyles Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Community Hall Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Wade Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Restland Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Julius Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Wade Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Bigsby Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Hunter Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (180 more) ...
    • Post Oak Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • McGee Springs Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Bluff Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 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 Lake West in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Lake West.

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

  • Direct
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Direct is located in Lamar County (TX)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Direct
  • Monkstown
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Monkstown is located in Fannin County (TX)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monkstown
  • Telephone
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Elwood
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Elwood is located in Fannin County (TX)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elwood
  • Selfs
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Selfs is located in Fannin County (TX)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selfs
  • Maxey
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Maxey is located in Lamar County (TX)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxey
  • Duplex
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Duplex is located in Fannin County (TX)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duplex
  • Sumner
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Emberson
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Emberson is located in Lamar County (TX)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emberson
  • Lamasco
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Lamasco is located in Fannin County (TX)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamasco
  • Chicota
    (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
  • Ivanhoe
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Petty
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Honey Grove
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • High
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • High is located in Lamar County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High

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

Newspapers Published in Lake West ...

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 73 newspapers that have been published in the area around Lake West.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Lake West, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Lake West.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Lake West:

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>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.
<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 Lake West, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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- Lake West) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.