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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 Union Valley (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 Union Valley. 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 Union Valley ...

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 Union Valley: Union Vly. (or less commonly used: Union Vally. or Union Vlly.)

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Union Valley. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Union Valley.

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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals 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.

Union Valley is located in Pontotoc 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 Pontotoc County: Coal, Garvin, Hughes, Johnston, Murray, Pottawatomie & Seminole.

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

  • Pontotoc County     (The home county of Union Valley)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Union Valley, with the one closest to Union Valley listed first.
    • Ahloso
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Ahloso is located in Pontotoc County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ahloso
    • Stonewall
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Homer
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Homer is located in Pontotoc County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homer
    • Harden City
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Harden City is located in Pontotoc County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harden City
    • Fittstown
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Franks
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Franks is located in Pontotoc County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franks
    • Ada
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • 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>
    • Lula
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Lula is located in Pontotoc County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lula
    • Jesse
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Jesse is located in Pontotoc County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jesse
    • Oakman
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Oakman is located in Pontotoc County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakman
    • Fitzhugh
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Byng
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Byng is located in Pontotoc County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byng
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,204 people
  • Coal County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Union Valley, with the one closest to Union Valley listed first.
    • Tupelo
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Centrahoma
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Clarita
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Coalgate
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Phillips
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Phillips is located in Coal County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phillips
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 130 people
    • Lehigh
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Garvin County
    • Stratford
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
  • Hughes County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Union Valley, with the one closest to Union Valley listed first.
    • Citra
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Citra is located in Hughes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Citra
    • Gerty
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Gerty is located in Hughes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gerty
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 109 people
    • Non
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Non is located in Hughes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Non
    • Atwood
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Spaulding
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Spaulding is located in Hughes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spaulding
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 171 people
    • Calvin
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Holdenville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Stuart
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Johnston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Union Valley, with the one closest to Union Valley listed first.
    • Connerville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Bromide
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Wapanucka
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Mill Creek
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Reagan
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Reagan is located in Johnston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reagan
    • Coleman
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • McClain County
    • Byars
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Murray County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Union Valley, with the one closest to Union Valley listed first.
    • Hickory
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Hickory is located in Murray County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 75 people
    • Sulphur
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Pittsburg County
    • Ashland
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Ashland is located in Pittsburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 63 people
  • Pottawatomie County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Union Valley, with the one closest to Union Valley listed first.
    • Sacred Heart
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Sacred Heart is located in Pottawatomie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sacred Heart
    • Asher
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Asher is located in Pottawatomie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asher
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 418 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Asher <1>
    • Saint Louis
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Seminole County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Union Valley, with the one closest to Union Valley listed first.
    • Sasakwa
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Konawa
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Union Valley ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Union Valley.

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 Union Valley - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Malville Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Melville Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Cockran Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Frisco Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • High Hill Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Hickory Hill Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Lonegrove Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Atkins Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Highland Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Puller Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Fittstown Baptist Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Allison Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (179 more) ...
    • Franks Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Pleasant Grove Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Fivemile Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)

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

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

  • Francis
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Sacred Heart
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Sacred Heart is located in Pottawatomie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sacred Heart

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

Newspapers Published in Union Valley ...

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 71 newspapers that have been published in the area around Union Valley.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Union Valley, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Union Valley.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with 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 Union Valley:

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 Union Valley, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Union Valley) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.