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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 McLain (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 McLain. 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 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.

McLain is located in Muskogee 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 Muskogee County: Cherokee, Haskell, McIntosh, Okmulgee, Sequoyah & Wagoner.

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

  • Muskogee County     (The home county of McLain)
    • The following are listed by their distance from McLain, with the one closest to McLain listed first.
    • River Bottom
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • River Bottom is located in Muskogee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Bottom
    • Warner
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Braggs
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Sour John
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Sour John is located in Muskogee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sour John
    • Webbers Falls
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Summit
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Summit is located in Muskogee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 136 people
    • Oktaha
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Muskogee
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Simms
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Simms is located in Muskogee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simms
    • Bacone
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Bacone is located in Muskogee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bacone
    • Fort Gibson
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Porum
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Wainwright
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
  • Adair County
  • Cherokee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from McLain, with the one closest to McLain listed first.
    • Cookson
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Pettit
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Pettit is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pettit
    • Woodall
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Woodall is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodall
    • Zeb
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Zeb is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zeb
    • Pettit Bay
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Pettit Bay is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pettit Bay
    • Keys
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Keys is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keys
    • Caney Ridge
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Caney Ridge is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caney Ridge
    • Carters Landing
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Carters Landing is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carters Landing
    • Dry Creek
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Dry Creek is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Creek
    • Hulbert
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Barber
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Barber is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barber
    • Park Hill
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Shady Grove
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Shady Grove is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Grove
  • Haskell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from McLain, with the one closest to McLain listed first.
    • Tamaha
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Tamaha is located in Haskell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tamaha
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 235 people
    • Hoyt
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Whitefield
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Stigler
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Enterprise
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Enterprise is located in Haskell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enterprise
    • Keota
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Kinta
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Sans Bois
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Sans Bois is located in Haskell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sans Bois
  • McIntosh County
    • The following are listed by their distance from McLain, with the one closest to McLain listed first.
    • Shady Grove
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Shady Grove is located in McIntosh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Grove
    • Rentiesville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Duchess Landing
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Duchess Landing is located in McIntosh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duchess Landing
    • Checotah
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Texanna
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Texanna is located in McIntosh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Texanna
    • Onapa
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Onapa is located in McIntosh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onapa
      • Onapa has also been known as:
      • Bond
    • Richardsville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Richardsville is located in McIntosh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richardsville
    • Eufaula
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Stidham
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Hitchita
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Carters Corner
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Carters Corner is located in McIntosh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carters Corner
  • Pittsburg County
    • The following are listed by their distance from McLain, with the one closest to McLain listed first.
    • Longtown
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Carlton Landing
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Carlton Landing is located in Pittsburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlton Landing
    • Quinton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Sequoyah County
    • The following are listed by their distance from McLain, with the one closest to McLain listed first.
    • Gore
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Gore is located in Sequoyah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gore
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 946 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gore <1>
    • Paradise Hill
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Paradise Hill is located in Sequoyah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise Hill
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 80 people
    • Redbird Smith
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Redbird Smith is located in Sequoyah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redbird Smith
    • Carlisle
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Carlisle is located in Sequoyah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlisle
    • Box
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Box is located in Sequoyah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Box
    • Vian
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Vian is located in Sequoyah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vian
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,356 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vian <1>
    • Evening Shade
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Evening Shade is located in Sequoyah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evening Shade
    • Pinhook Corners
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Pinhook Corners is located in Sequoyah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinhook Corners
    • McKey
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • McKey is located in Sequoyah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McKey
    • Dwight Mission
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Dwight Mission is located in Sequoyah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dwight Mission
    • Marble City Community
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Marble City Community is located in Sequoyah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marble City Community
    • Marble City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Flute Springs
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Flute Springs is located in Sequoyah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flute Springs
  • Wagoner County
    • The following are listed by their distance from McLain, with the one closest to McLain listed first.
    • Okay
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Okay is located in Wagoner County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Okay
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 712 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Okay <1>
    • Mallard Bay
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Mallard Bay is located in Wagoner County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mallard Bay
    • Anchor
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Anchor is located in Wagoner County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anchor
    • Tullahassee
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Tullahassee is located in Wagoner County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tullahassee
    • Gibson
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Gibson is located in Wagoner County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibson
    • Clarksville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Clarksville is located in Wagoner County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarksville
    • Porter
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Wagoner
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Choska ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Choska is located in Wagoner County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Choska
      • Choska has also been known as:
      • Chooska Bottoms
      • Choska Bottoms
    • Redbird
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Stones Corner
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Stones Corner is located in Wagoner County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stones Corner

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

Cemeteries Near McLain ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of McLain.

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

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

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

  • McLain Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Elm Grove Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Warner Memorial Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Agnew Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Popes Chapel Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Vaught Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Plunkett Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • South Bethel Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Rock Grove Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Howland Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Brushy Mtn. Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Bennett Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (209 more) ...
    • Woodall Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Phillips Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Sam Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 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.<2>

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

  • Martin
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Martin is located in Muskogee County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martin

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

Newspapers Published in McLain ...

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 61 newspapers that have been published in the area around McLain.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of McLain, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for McLain.

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 either 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 McLain:

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>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 McLain, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- McLain) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.