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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 Oak Flat (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 Oak Flat. 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 Oak Flat ...

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 Oak Flat: Oak Flt.

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

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.

Oak Flat is located in Angelina 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 Angelina County: Cherokee, Houston, Jasper, Nacogdoches, Polk, San Augustine, Trinity & Tyler.

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

  • Angelina County     (The home county of Oak Flat)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oak Flat, with the one closest to Oak Flat listed first.
    • Huntington
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Ora
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Ora is located in Angelina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ora
    • Rocky Springs
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Rocky Springs is located in Angelina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Springs
    • Boynton
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Boynton is located in Angelina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boynton
    • Ewing
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Ewing is located in Angelina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ewing
    • Thomas Crossing
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Thomas Crossing is located in Angelina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomas Crossing
    • Alco
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Alco is located in Angelina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alco
    • Dunagan
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Dunagan is located in Angelina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunagan
    • Homer
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Homer is located in Angelina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homer
    • Bald Hill
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Bald Hill is located in Angelina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bald Hill
    • Manning ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Manning is located in Angelina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manning
    • Zavalla
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Beulah
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Beulah is located in Angelina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beulah
  • Cherokee County
    • Wells
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Jasper County
    • Harveytown
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Harveytown is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harveytown
  • Nacogdoches County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oak Flat, with the one closest to Oak Flat listed first.
    • Etoile
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Woden
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Chireno
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Attoyac
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Attoyac is located in Nacogdoches County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Attoyac
    • Swift
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Swift is located in Nacogdoches County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swift
    • Nacogdoches
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Martinsville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Alazan
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Alazan is located in Nacogdoches County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alazan
    • Redfield
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Redfield is located in Nacogdoches County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redfield
    • Appleby
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Appleby is located in Nacogdoches County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Appleby
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 444 people
  • Polk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oak Flat, with the one closest to Oak Flat listed first.
    • Skinner Town
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Skinner Town is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skinner Town
    • Barnum
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Barnum is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnum
    • Corrigan
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Camden
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Barnes
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Barnes is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnes
    • Lily Island
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Lily Island is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lily Island
    • Moscow
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Sabine County
  • San Augustine County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oak Flat, with the one closest to Oak Flat listed first.
    • Broaddus
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Zana ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Zana is located in San Augustine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zana
    • White City
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • White City is located in San Augustine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
    • Denning
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Denning is located in San Augustine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denning
    • Maxey Town
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Maxey Town is located in San Augustine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxey Town
    • Powell
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Powell is located in San Augustine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powell
    • Rebecca
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Rebecca is located in San Augustine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rebecca
    • San Augustine
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Trinity County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oak Flat, with the one closest to Oak Flat listed first.
    • Apple Springs
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Helmic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Helmic is located in Trinity County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helmic
  • Tyler County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oak Flat, with the one closest to Oak Flat listed first.
    • Peach Tree Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Peach Tree Village is located in Tyler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peach Tree Village
    • Chester
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Colmesneil
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)

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

Cemeteries Near Oak Flat ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Oak Flat.

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 Oak Flat - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Huntington Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Jonesville Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Treadwell Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Carrell Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Shofner Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Shawnee Creek Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Ozias Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Brown Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • McNeil Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • McNiel Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Harnington Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Naren Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (208 more) ...
    • McClure Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Rocky Springs Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Rocky Hill Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 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 Oak Flat in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Oak Flat.

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

  • Ora
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Ora is located in Angelina County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ora
  • Homer
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Homer is located in Angelina County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homer
  • Etoile
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Lufkin
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Lufkin is located in Angelina County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lufkin
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 34,955 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lufkin <1>
  • Zana ‑ Historic
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Zana is located in San Augustine County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zana
  • Burke
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Burke is located in Angelina County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burke
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 727 people
  • Woden
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
  • Keltys
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Keltys is located in Angelina County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keltys
  • Chireno
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
  • Clawson
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Clawson is located in Angelina County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clawson
  • Rockland
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Rockland is located in Tyler County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockland
  • Melrose
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Melrose is located in Nacogdoches County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Denning
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Denning is located in San Augustine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denning
    • Macune
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Macune is located in San Augustine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macune
    • Swift
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Swift is located in Nacogdoches County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swift

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

Newspapers Published in Oak Flat ...

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 69 newspapers that have been published in the area around Oak Flat.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Oak Flat, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Oak Flat.

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 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 Oak Flat:

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 Oak Flat, 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- Oak Flat) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.