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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 Fair Oaks (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 Fair Oaks. 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 doctors 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.

Fair Oaks is located in Limestone County.

To see how the shape of Texas' counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Limestone County: Falls, Freestone, Hill, Leon, McLennan, Navarro & Robertson.

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

  • Limestone County     (The home county of Fair Oaks)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fair Oaks, with the one closest to Fair Oaks listed first.
    • Personville
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Personville is located in Limestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Personville
    • Farrar
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Farrar is located in Limestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farrar
    • Lost Prairie
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Lost Prairie is located in Limestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lost Prairie
    • Fallon
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Fallon is located in Limestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fallon
    • Groesbeck
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Mexia
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Mexia is located in Limestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mexia
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,287 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mexia <1>
    • Thornton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Tehuacana
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Kosse
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Kosse is located in Limestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kosse
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 463 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kosse <1>
    • Frosa
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Frosa is located in Limestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frosa
    • Ben Hur
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Ben Hur is located in Limestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ben Hur
    • Kirk
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Kirk is located in Limestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirk
  • Falls County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fair Oaks, with the one closest to Fair Oaks listed first.
    • Stranger
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Stranger is located in Falls County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stranger
    • Otto
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Freestone County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fair Oaks, with the one closest to Fair Oaks listed first.
    • Donie
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Freestone
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Freestone is located in Freestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freestone
    • Teague
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Teague is located in Freestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teague
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,526 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Teague <1>
    • Dew
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Dew is located in Freestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dew
    • Cotton Gin
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Lanely
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Lanely is located in Freestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lanely
    • Fairfield
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Kirvin
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Turlington
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Turlington is located in Freestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turlington
    • Wortham
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Stewards Mill ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Stewards Mill is located in Freestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stewards Mill
    • Red Lake
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Red Lake is located in Freestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Lake
  • Leon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fair Oaks, with the one closest to Fair Oaks listed first.
    • Newby
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Newby is located in Leon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newby
    • Jewett
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Buffalo
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Marquez
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Concord
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Centerville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Flynn
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Russell
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Russell is located in Leon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell
    • Hilltop Lakes
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Leona
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • McLennan County
    • Mart
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Mart is located in McLennan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mart
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,983 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mart <1>
  • Navarro County
    • Richland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Richland is located in Navarro County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 273 people
  • Robertson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fair Oaks, with the one closest to Fair Oaks listed first.
    • Seale
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Seale is located in Robertson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seale
    • Bald Prairie
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Bald Prairie is located in Robertson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bald Prairie
    • Ridge
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Ridge is located in Robertson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridge
    • New Baden
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Bremond
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Fair Oaks ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Fair Oaks.

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 Fair Oaks - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Oakes Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakes Cemetery
    • The Oakes Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Oaks Cemetery
  • Holt Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • New Hope Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hope Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the New Hope Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 8 miles [12.9 km]<3> to the northwest of Jewett.
    • The New Hope Cemetery has also been known as:
    • New Hope Church Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2203994 <2>
  • Wilsons Chapel Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Post Oak Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Cox Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Old Zion Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Philpott Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Kendrick Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Hughes & Hyden Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Lenamon Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • McKenzie Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (163 more) ...
    • Salem Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Greenwood Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Bethel Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 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.<4>

While we didn't find Fair Oaks in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Fair Oaks.

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

  • Farrar
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Farrar is located in Limestone County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farrar
  • Personville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Personville is located in Limestone County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Personville
  • Luna
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Luna is located in Freestone County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luna
  • Prairie Grove
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Prairie Grove is located in Limestone County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Grove
  • Oletha
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Oletha is located in Limestone County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oletha
  • Seale
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Seale is located in Robertson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seale
  • Jewett
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Dew
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Dew is located in Freestone County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dew
  • Cotton Gin
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Groesbeck
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Buffalo
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Thornton
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Mexia
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Mexia is located in Limestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mexia
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,287 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mexia <1>
    • Marquez
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Concord
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Fair Oaks ...

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 38 newspapers that have been published in the area around Fair Oaks.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Fair Oaks, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Fair Oaks.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 Fair Oaks:

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Fair Oaks) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<4>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 Fair Oaks, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.