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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 Pontotoc (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 Pontotoc. 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 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.

Pontotoc is located in Johnston 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 Johnston County: Atoka, Bryan, Carter, Coal, Marshall, Murray & Pontotoc.

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

  • Johnston County     (The home county of Pontotoc)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pontotoc, with the one closest to Pontotoc listed first.
    • Connerville
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Bromide
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Reagan
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Reagan is located in Johnston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reagan
    • Mill Creek
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Wapanucka
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Milburn
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Tishomingo
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Ravia
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Coleman
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Bee
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Bee is located in Johnston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bee
    • Mannsville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Atoka County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pontotoc, with the one closest to Pontotoc listed first.
    • Tushka
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Tushka is located in Atoka County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tushka
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 400 people
    • Atoka
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Caney
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Bryan County
    • Kenefic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Carter County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pontotoc, with the one closest to Pontotoc listed first.
    • Gene Autry
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Gene Autry is located in Carter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gene Autry
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 166 people
      • Former names for Gene Autry:
      • Berwyn
      • Dresden
      • Lou
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gene Autry <1>
    • Dickson
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Dickson is located in Carter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,256 people
  • Coal County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pontotoc, with the one closest to Pontotoc listed first.
    • Clarita
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Tupelo
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Centrahoma
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Phillips
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Phillips is located in Coal County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phillips
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 130 people
    • Coalgate
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Lehigh
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
  • Garvin County
    • Stratford
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Hughes County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pontotoc, with the one closest to Pontotoc listed first.
    • Citra
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Citra is located in Hughes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Citra
    • Non
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Non is located in Hughes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Non
    • Gerty
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Gerty is located in Hughes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gerty
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 109 people
  • Marshall County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pontotoc, with the one closest to Pontotoc listed first.
    • Little City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Little City is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little City
    • Madill
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Oakland
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Oakland is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,161 people
    • Cumberland
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Cumberland is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland
  • Murray County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pontotoc, with the one closest to Pontotoc listed first.
    • Hickory
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Hickory is located in Murray County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 75 people
    • Sulphur
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Crusher
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Crusher is located in Murray County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crusher
    • Dougherty
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Cedar Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Cedar Village is located in Murray County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Village
    • Washita
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Washita is located in Murray County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washita
  • Pontotoc County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pontotoc, with the one closest to Pontotoc listed first.
    • Fittstown
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Franks
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Franks is located in Pontotoc County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franks
    • Harden City
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Harden City is located in Pontotoc County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harden City
    • Jesse
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Jesse is located in Pontotoc County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jesse
    • Stonewall
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Fitzhugh
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Roff
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Roff is located in Pontotoc County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roff
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 715 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Roff <1>
    • Ahloso
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Ahloso is located in Pontotoc County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ahloso
    • Lula
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Lula is located in Pontotoc County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lula
    • Ada
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Ada is located in Pontotoc County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ada
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,239 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ada <1>
    • Homer
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Homer is located in Pontotoc County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homer
    • Oakman
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Oakman is located in Pontotoc County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakman

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

Cemeteries Near Pontotoc ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Pontotoc.

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

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

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

  • Pontotoc Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Colley Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Seeley Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Connerville Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Pilgrim Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Brown Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Pleasant Hill Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Jesse Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Atkins Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Lonegrove Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Fittstown Baptist Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Franks Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (172 more) ...
    • Hickory Hill Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Wells Valley Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Wilson Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 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 Pontotoc in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Pontotoc.

  • Francis
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)

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

Newspapers Published in Pontotoc ...

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 94 newspapers that have been published in the area around Pontotoc.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Pontotoc, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Pontotoc.

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 Pontotoc:

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