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 Grove (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 Grove. 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 Grove ...
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: Oakgrove.
- A typical abbreviation for Oak Grove: Oak Grv.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Oak Grove. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Oak Grove.
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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.
Oak Grove is located in Ellis 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 Ellis County: Dallas, Henderson, Hill, Johnson, Kaufman, Navarro & Tarrant.
Below are the counties that are near Oak Grove. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Oak Grove:
- Ellis County (The home county of Oak Grove)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Grove, with the one closest to Oak Grove listed first.
- Alma
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Alma is located in Ellis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alma
- Population from the 2020 Census: 400 people
- Ennis
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Bardwell
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Telico
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Telico is located in Ellis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Telico
- Garrett
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Garrett is located in Ellis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garrett
- Population from the 2020 Census: 891 people
- Crisp
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Crisp is located in Ellis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crisp
- Howard
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Howard is located in Ellis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howard
- Boyce
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Boyce is located in Ellis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyce
- Palmer
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Avalon
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Nash
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Nash is located in Ellis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nash
- Bristol
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Bristol is located in Ellis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bristol
- Ike
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Ike is located in Ellis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ike
- Dallas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Grove, with the one closest to Oak Grove listed first.
- Ferris
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Combine
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Combine is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Combine
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,537 people
- Wilmer
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Glenn Heights
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Lancaster
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Ovilla
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Seagoville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Hutchins
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- DeSoto
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Kleberg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Kleberg is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kleberg
- Shamrock
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Shamrock is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shamrock
- Lawson
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Lawson is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawson
- Freestone County
- Streetman
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Henderson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Grove, with the one closest to Oak Grove listed first.
- Seven Points
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Tool
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Gun Barrel City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Enchanted Oaks
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Enchanted Oaks is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enchanted Oaks
- Population from the 2020 Census: 343 people
- Payne Springs
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Payne Springs is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Payne Springs
- Population from the 2020 Census: 756 people
- Trinidad
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Hill County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Grove, with the one closest to Oak Grove listed first.
- Mertens
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Irene
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Brandon
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Carl's Corner
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Carl's Corner is located in Hill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carl's Corner
- Population from the 2020 Census: 199 people
- Malone
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Kaufman County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Grove, with the one closest to Oak Grove listed first.
- Rosser
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Styx
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Styx is located in Kaufman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Styx
- Cottonwood
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Cottonwood is located in Kaufman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottonwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 209 people
- Grays Prairie
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Grays Prairie is located in Kaufman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grays Prairie
- Population from the 2020 Census: 388 people
- Stubbs
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Stubbs is located in Kaufman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stubbs
- Tolosa
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Tolosa is located in Kaufman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tolosa
- Scurry
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Kemp
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Oak Grove
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Oak Grove is located in Kaufman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 704 people
- Crandall
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Becker
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Becker is located in Kaufman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Becker
- Kaufman
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Mabank
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Navarro County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Grove, with the one closest to Oak Grove listed first.
- Rice
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Emhouse
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Emhouse is located in Navarro County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emhouse
- Population from the 2020 Census: 154 people
- Tupelo
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Tupelo is located in Navarro County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tupelo
- Cryer Creek ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Cryer Creek is located in Navarro County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cryer Creek
- Chatfield
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Barry
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Corsicana
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Roane
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Roane is located in Navarro County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roane
- Blooming Grove
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Retreat
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Retreat is located in Navarro County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Retreat
- Population from the 2020 Census: 384 people
- Dresden
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Dresden is located in Navarro County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dresden
- Oak Valley
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Oak Valley is located in Navarro County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Valley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 427 people
- Frost
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Oak Grove, see our County-by-County Page for Oak Grove.
Cemeteries Near Oak Grove ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Oak Grove.
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 Grove - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Oak Grove covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Oak Grove, with the one closest to Oak Grove listed first.
- Redwine Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Sanderson Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Rice Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Myrtle Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- St. Joseph Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Grady Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bardwell Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Pattison Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Templeton Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Grange Hall Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Providence Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Old Chatfield Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Continue List (130 more) ...
- Crisp Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Austonia Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Cryer Creek Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
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.<2>
While we didn't find Oak Grove in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Oak Grove.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Oak Grove, with the one closest to Oak Grove listed first.
- Alma
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Alma is located in Ellis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alma
- Population from the 2020 Census: 400 people
- Rice
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Ennis
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Cryer Creek ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Cryer Creek is located in Navarro County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cryer Creek
- Chatfield
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Barry
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Avalon
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Palmer
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Boyce
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Boyce is located in Ellis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyce
- Blooming Grove
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Corsicana
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Nash
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Nash is located in Ellis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nash
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Drane
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Drane is located in Navarro County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drane
- Bristol
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Bristol is located in Ellis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bristol
- Dresden
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Dresden is located in Navarro County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dresden
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Oak Grove. See our List of 1890's Communities around Oak Grove.
Newspapers Published in Oak Grove ...
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 77 newspapers that have been published in the area around Oak Grove.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Oak Grove, 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 Oak Grove.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin with 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 Oak Grove:
- Websites specific to Texas
- Pages specific to Ellis County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Dallas County
- Freestone County
- Henderson County
- Hill County
- Kaufman County
- Navarro County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Texas
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> | 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 Grove, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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- Oak Grove) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |