RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Oklahoma >> Texas County >> Optima >> Genealogy HelperIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
Oklahoma

The Commemorative Quarter for Oklahoma





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 Optima (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 Optima. 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.

Optima is located in Texas 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 Texas County: Morton (KS), Seward (KS), Stevens (KS), Beaver, Cimarron, Hansford (TX), Ochiltree (TX) & Sherman (TX).

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

  • Texas County     (The home county of Optima)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Optima, with the one closest to Optima listed first.
    • Guymon
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Straight
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Straight
      • Straight is located in Texas County
    • Hooker
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Hardesty
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hardesty have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hardesty
      • Hardesty is located in Texas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 209 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hardesty <1>
    • Adams
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Goodwell
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Goodwell have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodwell
      • Goodwell is located in Texas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,264 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Goodwell <1>
    • Tyrone
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tyrone have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyrone
      • Tyrone is located in Texas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 743 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tyrone <1>
    • Texhoma
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Beaver County
  • Morton County (KS)
    • Rolla
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rolla have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rolla
      • Rolla is located in Morton County (KS)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 348 people
  • Seward County (KS)
    • Liberal
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberal
      • Liberal is located in Seward County (KS)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 18,821 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Liberal <1>
  • Stevens County (KS)
    • Hugoton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hugoton
      • Hugoton is located in Stevens County (KS)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,678 people
      • Former name for Hugoton:
      • Hugo
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hugoton <1>
  • Sherman County (TX)
    • Texhoma
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Texhoma
      • Texhoma is located in Sherman County (TX)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 321 people

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Optima ...

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 46 newspapers that have been published in the area around Optima.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Optima. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Optima and those printed in the larger area surrounding Optima.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3> of Optima.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Optima:

Cemeteries Near Optima ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Optima.

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

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

  • Optima Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Optima Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Optima Cemetery
  • Carter Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Carter Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Carter Cemetery
  • Keen Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Keen Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Keen Cemetery
  • Elmhurst Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Elmhurst Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Elmhurst Cemetery
  • Banner Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Banner Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Banner Cemetery
  • Catholic Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Catholic Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Catholic Cemetery
  • Lutheran Babyland Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lutheran Babyland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lutheran Babyland Cemetery
  • Lutheran Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lutheran Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lutheran Cemetery
  • St. Johannes Evangelical Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Johannes Evangelical Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Johannes Evangelical Cemetery
  • Trinity Lutheran Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Trinity Lutheran Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Trinity Lutheran Cemetery
  • Hooker Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hooker Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hooker Cemetery
  • Lee Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lee Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lee Cemetery
  • Continue List   (23 more) ...
    • Hardesty Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hardesty Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hardesty Cemetery
    • Brethren Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Brethren Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Brethren Cemetery
    • Krimmer Mennonite Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Krimmer Mennonite Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Krimmer Mennonite Cemetery

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 Optima in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Optima.

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

  • Hugoton
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hugoton
    • Hugoton is located in Stevens County (KS)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,678 people
    • Former name for Hugoton:
    • Hugo
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hugoton <1>
  • Boyd
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Boyd have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyd
    • Boyd is located in Beaver County

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

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Optima. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for State of Oklahoma: https://www.ok.gov/

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 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.
<3>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- Optima) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Optima. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.7620, Longitude: -101.3497       In this case, the coordinates for Optima have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Optima, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

Copyright 2024
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024