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 Oakbrook (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 Oakbrook. 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 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 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.
Oakbrook is located in Berks County.
To see how the shape of Pennsylvania's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Berks County: Chester, Lancaster, Lebanon, Lehigh, Montgomery & Schuylkill.
Below are the counties that are near Oakbrook. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Oakbrook:
- Berks County (The home county of Oakbrook)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakbrook, with the one closest to Oakbrook listed first.
- Millmont
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Millmont is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millmont
- Reading
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- West Reading
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Wyomissing
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Deerfield Village
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Deerfield Village is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deerfield Village
- Kenhorst
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Mount Penn
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Freemanville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Freemanville is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freemanville
- Shillington
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- West Wyomissing
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- West Wyomissing is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Wyomissing
- Wyomissing Hills
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Wyomissing Hills is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyomissing Hills
- Flying Hills
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Flying Hills is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flying Hills
- Mohnton
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Bucks County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakbrook, with the one closest to Oakbrook listed first.
- Steinsburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Steinsburg is located in Bucks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steinsburg
- Argus
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Argus is located in Bucks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argus
- Milford Square
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Milford Square is located in Bucks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milford Square
- Trumbauersville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Zionhill
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Zionhill is located in Bucks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zionhill
- Chester County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakbrook, with the one closest to Oakbrook listed first.
- Elverson
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Isabella
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Isabella is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isabella
- Loag
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Loag is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loag
- Pottstown Landing
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Pottstown Landing is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pottstown Landing
- South Pottstown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- South Pottstown is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Pottstown
- Dampman
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Dampman is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dampman
- Honey Brook
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Suplee
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Suplee is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suplee
- Knauertown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Knauertown is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knauertown
- Kenilworth
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Kenilworth is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenilworth
- Cambridge
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Cambridge is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambridge
- Cupola
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Cupola is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cupola
- Coventryville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Coventryville is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coventryville
- Lancaster County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakbrook, with the one closest to Oakbrook listed first.
- Blainsport
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Blainsport is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blainsport
- Denver
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Reamstown
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Red Run
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Red Run is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Run
- Terre Hill
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Churchtown
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Stevens
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Beartown
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Beartown is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beartown
- Weaverland
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Weaverland is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weaverland
- Cocalico
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Cocalico is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cocalico
- East Earl
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Blue Ball
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Hinkletown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Hinkletown is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hinkletown
- Lebanon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakbrook, with the one closest to Oakbrook listed first.
- Newmanstown
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Sheridan
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Sheridan is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheridan
- Stricklerstown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Stricklerstown is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stricklerstown
- Richland
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Myerstown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Schaefferstown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Johnstown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Johnstown is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnstown
- Prescott
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Prescott is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prescott
- Avon Heights
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Avon Heights is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avon Heights
- Greble
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Greble is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greble
- Avon
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Avon is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avon
- Miners Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Miners Village is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miners Village
- Mount Zion
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Mount Zion is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
- Lehigh County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakbrook, with the one closest to Oakbrook listed first.
- New Smithville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- New Smithville is located in Lehigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Smithville
- Alburtis
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Hensingersville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Hensingersville is located in Lehigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hensingersville
- Hynemansville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Hynemansville is located in Lehigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hynemansville
- Seipstown
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Seipstown is located in Lehigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seipstown
- Stines Corner
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Stines Corner is located in Lehigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stines Corner
- Wallner ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Wallner is located in Lehigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallner
- Weisenberg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Weisenberg is located in Lehigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weisenberg
- Ancient Oaks
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Ancient Oaks is located in Lehigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ancient Oaks
- Macungie
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Powder Valley
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Powder Valley is located in Lehigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powder Valley
- Hosensack
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Hosensack is located in Lehigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hosensack
- Jacksonville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Jacksonville is located in Lehigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacksonville
- Montgomery County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakbrook, with the one closest to Oakbrook listed first.
- Bramcote
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Bramcote is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bramcote
- West Pottsgrove
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- West Pottsgrove is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Pottsgrove
- Stowe
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Halfway House
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Halfway House is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halfway House
- Pottstown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Gilbertsville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Pottsgrove
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Pottsgrove is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pottsgrove
- Congo
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Congo is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Congo
- New Hanover
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Sanatoga
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Fagleysville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Fagleysville is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fagleysville
- Pleasant Run
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Pleasant Run is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Run
- Anise
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Anise is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anise
- Schuylkill County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakbrook, with the one closest to Oakbrook listed first.
- Port Clinton
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Auburn
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Jefferson
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Jefferson is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson
- Deer Lake
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Deer Lake is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 645 people
- Aucheys
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Aucheys is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aucheys
- Summit Station
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Summit Station is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit Station
- Lake Wynonah
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Lake Wynonah is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Wynonah
- Rauschs
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Rauschs is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rauschs
- Landingville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Landingville is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Landingville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 149 people
- Moyers
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Moyers is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moyers
- Orwigsburg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Rene Mont
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Rene Mont is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rene Mont
- Schuylkill Haven
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Oakbrook, see our County-by-County Page for Oakbrook.
Cemeteries Near Oakbrook ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Oakbrook.
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 Oakbrook - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Oakbrook covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Oakbrook, with the one closest to Oakbrook listed first.
- St. Stephens Memorial Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- St. Mary's Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Bernardine Sisters Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Yocums Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Kesher Zion Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kesher Zion Cemetery
- The Kesher Zion Cemetery has also been known as:
- Kesher Zion Congregation Memorial Grounds
- Kisher Zion Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #348729 <2>
- Shomre Habrith Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- German Lutheran Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- St. Peters Catholic Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Trinity Lutheran Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Fairview Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Mt. Sinai Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (340 more) ...
- Forest Hills Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Aulenbach's Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Charles Evans Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
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 Oakbrook in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Oakbrook.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Oakbrook, with the one closest to Oakbrook listed first.
- Millmont
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Millmont is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millmont
- Grill
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Grill is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grill
- Reading
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Shillington
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Ridgewood
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Ridgewood is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgewood
- Neversink
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Neversink is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neversink
- Seyfert
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Seyfert is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seyfert
- Stony Creek Mills
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Stony Creek Mills is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Creek Mills
- Angelica
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Angelica is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angelica
- Gibraltar
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Gibraltar is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibraltar
- Jacksonwald
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Jacksonwald is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacksonwald
- Bernharts
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Bernharts is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bernharts
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Laureldale
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Muhlenberg
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Muhlenberg is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muhlenberg
- Cacoosing
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Cacoosing is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cacoosing
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Oakbrook. See our List of 1890's Communities around Oakbrook.
Newspapers Published in Oakbrook ...
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 130 newspapers that have been published in the area around Oakbrook.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Oakbrook, there are papers which were published within 7 miles [11.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Oakbrook.
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 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 Oakbrook:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Berks County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bucks County
- Chester County
- Lancaster County
- Lebanon County
- Lehigh County
- Montgomery County
- Schuylkill County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Pennsylvania
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 Oakbrook, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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- Oakbrook) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |