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 White Oak (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 White Oak. 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 White Oak ...
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.
Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.
Another variation: Whiteoak.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named White Oak. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for White Oak.
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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and 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.
White Oak is located in Lancaster 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 Lancaster County: Cecil (MD), Harford (MD), Berks, Chester, Dauphin, Lebanon & York.
Below are the counties that are near White Oak. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to White Oak:
- Lancaster County (The home county of White Oak)
- The following are listed by their distance from White Oak, with the one closest to White Oak listed first.
- Elstonville
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Elstonville is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elstonville
- Elm
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Elm is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elm
- Mount Hope
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Hope is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Hope
- Manheim
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Naumanstown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Naumanstown is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naumanstown
- Brickerville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Poplar Grove
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Poplar Grove is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Grove
- Sporting Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Sporting Hill is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sporting Hill
- Fairland
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Fairland is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairland
- Brunnerville
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Lancaster Junction
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Lancaster Junction is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lancaster Junction
- Lititz
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Berks County
- The following are listed by their distance from White Oak, with the one closest to White Oak listed first.
- Mount Aetna
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Womelsdorf
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Robesonia
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Wintersville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Wintersville is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wintersville
- Adamstown
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Adamstown is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adamstown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,905 people
- Adamstown has also been known as:
- Adamschteddel
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Adamstown <1>
- Meckville
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Meckville is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meckville
- North Heidelberg
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- North Heidelberg is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Heidelberg
- Phoebe Berks Village
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Wernersville
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Bethel
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Rehrersburg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Rehrersburg is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rehrersburg
- Brownsville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Brownsville is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsville
- Chester County
- The following are listed by their distance from White Oak, with the one closest to White Oak listed first.
- Cambridge
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Cambridge is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambridge
- Honey Brook
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Compass
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Compass is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Compass
- Suplee
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Suplee is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suplee
- Dampman
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Dampman is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dampman
- Atglen
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Birdell
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Birdell is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birdell
- Cupola
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Cupola is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cupola
- Elverson
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Isabella
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Isabella is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isabella
- Rockville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Rockville is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockville
- Lenover
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Lenover is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lenover
- Cumberland County
- The following are listed by their distance from White Oak, with the one closest to White Oak listed first.
- Lemoyne
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Lower Allen
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Lower Allen is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lower Allen
- New Cumberland
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Camp Hill
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Lisburn
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Lisburn is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lisburn
- Wormleysburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- West Fairview
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- West Fairview is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Fairview
- Enola
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Shiremanstown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Shiremanstown is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiremanstown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,641 people
- Allenview
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Allenview is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allenview
- Sporting Hill
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Sporting Hill is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sporting Hill
- Westwood Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Westwood Village is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood Village
- Dauphin County
- The following are listed by their distance from White Oak, with the one closest to White Oak listed first.
- Bachmanville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Bachmanville is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bachmanville
- Hershey
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Union Deposit
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Union Deposit is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Deposit
- Grantville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Clifton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Clifton is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
- Hummelstown
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Middletown
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Royalton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Royalton is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royalton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,019 people
- Shellsville
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Shellsville is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shellsville
- Manadahill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Manadahill is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manadahill
- Skyline View
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Skyline View is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skyline View
- Highspire
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Lebanon County
- The following are listed by their distance from White Oak, with the one closest to White Oak listed first.
- Burd Coleman Village
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Burd Coleman Village is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burd Coleman Village
- Miners Village
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Miners Village is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miners Village
- Mount Gretna Heights
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Gretna Heights is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Gretna Heights
- Cornwall
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Mount Gretna
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Quentin
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Timber Hills
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Timber Hills is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timber Hills
- Johnstown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Johnstown is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnstown
- Colebrook
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Colebrook is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colebrook
- Fontana
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Fontana is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fontana
- Lawn
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Schaefferstown
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Luzerne County
- Newtown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Newtown is located in Luzerne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newtown
- Perry County
- Marysville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Schuylkill County
- The following are listed by their distance from White Oak, with the one closest to White Oak listed first.
- Irving
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Irving is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irving
- Suedberg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Suedberg is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suedberg
- Beuchler
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Beuchler is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beuchler
- Marstown
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Marstown is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marstown
- Pine Grove
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Moyers
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Moyers is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moyers
- Paradise
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Paradise is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise
- Ravine
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Ravine is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ravine
- Lorberry Junction
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Lorberry Junction is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lorberry Junction
- Summit Station
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Summit Station is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit Station
- Echo Valley
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Echo Valley is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo Valley
- Orwin
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Orwin is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orwin
- York County
- The following are listed by their distance from White Oak, with the one closest to White Oak listed first.
- Wrightsville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- East Prospect
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- East Prospect is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Prospect
- Population from the 2020 Census: 912 people
- Hallam
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Hallam is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallam
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,634 people
- Craley
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Craley is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craley
- Yorkana
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Yorkana is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorkana
- Population from the 2020 Census: 229 people
- York Haven
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Manchester
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Wolf
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Starview
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Starview is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Starview
- Goldsboro
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Goldsboro is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goldsboro
- Population from the 2020 Census: 938 people
- New Bridgeville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- New Bridgeville is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Bridgeville
- Bittersville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Bittersville is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bittersville
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to White Oak, see our County-by-County Page for White Oak.
Cemeteries Near White Oak ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of White Oak.
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 White Oak - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for White Oak covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from White Oak, with the one closest to White Oak listed first.
- Shumaker Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Earhart Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Fairview Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Kauffman Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Kauffman's Mennonite Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Miners Village Mennonite Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Moravian Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Bethel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Holy Savior Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Cornwall Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Ginder-Kinsey-Stauffer Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Continue List (286 more) ...
- Pleasant View Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Brunnerville United Methodist Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Mountain View Mennonite Church Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
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 White Oak in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of White Oak.
These communities are listed based on their distance from White Oak, with the one closest to White Oak listed first.
- Penryn
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Penryn is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penryn
- Elstonville
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Elstonville is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elstonville
- Manheim
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Mount Hope
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Hope is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Hope
- Sporting Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Sporting Hill is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sporting Hill
- Fairland
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Fairland is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairland
- Limerock
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Limerock is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Limerock
- Brickerville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Miners Village
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Miners Village is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miners Village
- North Cornwall
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- North Cornwall is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Cornwall
- Lancaster Junction
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Lancaster Junction is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lancaster Junction
- Lititz
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Brunnerville
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Lexington
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Lexington is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lexington
- Rexmont
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Rexmont is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rexmont
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around White Oak. See our List of 1890's Communities around White Oak.
Newspapers Published in White Oak ...
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 58 newspapers that have been published in the area around White Oak.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of White Oak, there are papers which were published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for White Oak.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we start 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 White Oak:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Lancaster County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Berks County
- Chester County
- Cumberland County
- Dauphin County
- Lebanon County
- Luzerne County
- Perry County
- Schuylkill County
- York 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 White Oak, 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' (or 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- White Oak) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |