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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 Tonkawa (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 Tonkawa. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Tonkawa is located in Kay 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 Kay County: Cowley (KS), Garfield, Grant, Noble & Osage.

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

  • Kay County     (The home county of Tonkawa)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Tonkawa, with the one closest to Tonkawa listed first.
    • Blackwell
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blackwell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackwell
      • Blackwell is located in Kay County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,526 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Blackwell <2>
    • Nardin
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nardin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nardin
      • Nardin is located in Kay County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nardin <2>
    • Ponca City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Cross ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cross. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cross
      • Cross is located in Kay County
    • White Eagle
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Eagle
      • White Eagle is located in Kay County
    • Braman
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Braman have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Braman
      • Braman is located in Kay County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 202 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Braman <2>
    • Kildare
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kildare have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kildare
      • Kildare is located in Kay County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 94 people
    • Newkirk
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Newkirk have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newkirk
      • Newkirk is located in Kay County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,162 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Newkirk <2>
    • Kaw City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Chilocco
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chilocco have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chilocco
      • Chilocco is located in Kay County
  • Garfield County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Tonkawa, with the one closest to Tonkawa listed first.
    • Hunter
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hunter have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunter
      • Hunter is located in Garfield County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 166 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hunter <2>
    • Garber
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garber have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garber
      • Garber is located in Garfield County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 804 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Garber <2>
    • Breckenridge
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Breckenridge
      • Breckenridge is located in Garfield County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 245 people
    • Hayward
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayward
      • Hayward is located in Garfield County
    • Covington
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Covington have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Covington
      • Covington is located in Garfield County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 533 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Covington <2>
    • Kremlin
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kremlin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kremlin
      • Kremlin is located in Garfield County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 257 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kremlin <2>
  • Grant County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Tonkawa, with the one closest to Tonkawa listed first.
    • Lamont
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Deer Creek
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Deer Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Creek
      • Deer Creek is located in Grant County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 127 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Deer Creek <2>
    • Salt Fork
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salt Fork
      • Salt Fork is located in Grant County
    • Renfrow
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Renfrow
      • Renfrow is located in Grant County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 12 people
    • Medford
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Jefferson
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jefferson have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson
      • Jefferson is located in Grant County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8 people
    • Pond Creek
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
  • Noble County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Tonkawa, with the one closest to Tonkawa listed first.
    • Marland
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marland
      • Marland is located in Noble County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marland <2>
    • Billings
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Billings have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Billings
      • Billings is located in Noble County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 495 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Billings <2>
    • Red Rock
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Red Rock have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Rock
      • Red Rock is located in Noble County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 285 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Red Rock <2>
    • Perry
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Lucien
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Petes Corner
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petes Corner
      • Petes Corner is located in Noble County
  • Osage County
    • McCord
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McCord have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCord
      • McCord is located in Osage County
  • Cowley County (KS)
    • Arkansas City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Sumner County (KS)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Tonkawa, with the one closest to Tonkawa listed first.
    • Hunnewell
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hunnewell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunnewell
      • Hunnewell is located in Sumner County (KS)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 59 people
    • South Haven
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Portland
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Portland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portland
      • Portland is located in Sumner County (KS)
    • Caldwell
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Tonkawa ...

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 55 newspapers that have been published in the area around Tonkawa.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Tonkawa. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Tonkawa and those printed in the larger area surrounding Tonkawa.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4> of Tonkawa.

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 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 Tonkawa:

Cemeteries Near Tonkawa ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Tonkawa.

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

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

  • Tonkawa IOOF Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Tonkawa IOOF Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Tonkawa IOOF Cemetery
  • Tonkawa Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Tonkawa Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Tonkawa Cemetery
  • Prairie View Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Prairie View Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Prairie View Cemetery
  • Riverview Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Riverview Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Riverview Cemetery
  • Round Grove Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Round Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Round Grove Cemetery
  • Blackwell Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Cowboy Hill Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cowboy Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cowboy Hill Cemetery
  • New Hope Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the New Hope Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the New Hope Cemetery
  • Floral Ridge Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Floral Ridge Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Floral Ridge Cemetery
  • Ponca Indian Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ponca Indian Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ponca Indian Cemetery
  • Ponca City IOOF Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ponca City IOOF Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ponca City IOOF Cemetery
  • St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery
  • Continue List   (89 more) ...
    • St. Johns Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Johns Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Johns Cemetery
    • Mt. Olive Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Olive Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Olive Cemetery
    • Mt. Vernon Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Vernon Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Vernon 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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Tonkawa had no post office or railroad service. In 2020, Tonkawa had a population of 2,958 people.

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

  • Blackwell
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blackwell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackwell
    • Blackwell is located in Kay County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,526 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Blackwell <2>
  • Ponca City
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Cross ‑ Historic
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cross. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cross
    • Cross is located in Kay County
  • Lamont
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Red Rock
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Red Rock have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Rock
    • Red Rock is located in Noble County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 285 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Red Rock <2>
  • Kildare
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kildare have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kildare
    • Kildare is located in Kay County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 94 people
  • Newkirk
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Newkirk have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newkirk
    • Newkirk is located in Kay County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,162 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Newkirk <2>
  • Garber
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garber have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garber
    • Garber is located in Garfield County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 804 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Garber <2>
  • Hunnewell
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hunnewell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunnewell
    • Hunnewell is located in Sumner County (KS)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 59 people
  • Black Bear
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Black Bear have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Bear
    • Black Bear is located in Noble County
  • South Haven
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
  • Chilocco
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chilocco have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chilocco
    • Chilocco is located in Kay County
  • Continue List   (10 more) ...
    • Renfrow
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Renfrow
      • Renfrow is located in Grant County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 12 people
    • Medford
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Drury
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Drury have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drury
      • Drury is located in Sumner County (KS)

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

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

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Tonkawa) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Tonkawa. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.6810, Longitude: -97.3098    
<5>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.
<6>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 Tonkawa, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024