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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 Island (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 Island. 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 Island ...

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 Island: Oak Is. (in Canada, 'Isld.' is the more common abbreviation.)

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

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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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 Island is located in Bexar 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 Bexar County: Atascosa, Bandera, Comal, Guadalupe, Kendall, Medina & Wilson.

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

  • Bexar County     (The home county of Oak Island)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oak Island, with the one closest to Oak Island listed first.
    • Somerset
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Von Ormy
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Bexar
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Bexar is located in Bexar County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bexar
    • Sandy Oaks
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Sandy Oaks is located in Bexar County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Oaks
    • Macdona
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Atascosa
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Lackland City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Lackland City is located in Bexar County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lackland City
    • Elmendorf
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Westwood Village
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Westwood Village is located in Bexar County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood Village
    • Lackland Heights
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • San Antonio
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Boldtville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Boldtville is located in Bexar County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boldtville
  • Atascosa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oak Island, with the one closest to Oak Island listed first.
    • Espey
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Espey is located in Atascosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Espey
    • Leming
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Rossville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Rossville is located in Atascosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rossville
    • Poteet
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Anchorage
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Anchorage is located in Atascosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anchorage
    • Lytle
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Lytle is located in Atascosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lytle
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,061 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lytle <1>
    • Verdi
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Verdi is located in Atascosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verdi
    • Amphion
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Amphion is located in Atascosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amphion
    • Iuka
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Iuka is located in Atascosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iuka
    • Pleasanton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Kyote
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Kyote is located in Atascosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kyote
    • Black Hill
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Black Hill is located in Atascosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Hill
  • Comal County
    • Bracken
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Bracken is located in Comal County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bracken
  • Frio County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oak Island, with the one closest to Oak Island listed first.
    • Bigfoot
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Moore
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Guadalupe County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oak Island, with the one closest to Oak Island listed first.
    • Zuehl
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Zuehl is located in Guadalupe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zuehl
    • Haeckerville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Haeckerville is located in Guadalupe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haeckerville
  • Medina County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oak Island, with the one closest to Oak Island listed first.
    • LaCoste
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • LaCoste is located in Medina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for LaCoste
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,263 people
      • LaCoste has also been known as:
      • La Coste
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for LaCoste <1>
    • Natalia
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Pearson
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Pearson is located in Medina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearson
    • Castroville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Devine
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Rio Medina
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Mico
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Quihi
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Quihi is located in Medina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quihi
  • Wilson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oak Island, with the one closest to Oak Island listed first.
    • Loire
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Loire is located in Wilson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loire
    • Graytown
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Graytown is located in Wilson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graytown
    • Saspamco
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Saspamco is located in Wilson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saspamco
    • Fairview
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Fairview is located in Wilson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
    • Canada Verde
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Canada Verde is located in Wilson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canada Verde
    • Calaveras
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Calaveras is located in Wilson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calaveras
    • Kicaster
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Kicaster is located in Wilson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kicaster
    • Darilek
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Darilek is located in Wilson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darilek
    • Loma Vista ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Loma Vista is located in Wilson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loma Vista
    • Floresville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Carpenter
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Carpenter is located in Wilson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carpenter
    • Grass Pond Colony ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Grass Pond Colony is located in Wilson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grass Pond Colony

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

Cemeteries Near Oak Island ...

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

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 Island - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

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 Oak Island in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Oak Island.

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

  • Earle
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Earle is located in Bexar County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Earle
  • Von Ormy
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Bexar
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Bexar is located in Bexar County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bexar
  • Withers
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Withers is located in Bexar County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Withers
  • Bergs Mill
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Bergs Mill is located in Bexar County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bergs Mill
  • Macdona
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Atascosa
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Rossville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Rossville is located in Atascosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rossville
  • Poteet
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • Elmendorf
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Anchorage
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Anchorage is located in Atascosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anchorage
  • San Antonio
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Lytle
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Lytle is located in Atascosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lytle
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,061 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lytle <1>
    • Verdi
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Verdi is located in Atascosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verdi
    • Amphion
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Amphion is located in Atascosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amphion

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

Newspapers Published in Oak Island ...

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 231 newspapers that have been published in the area around Oak Island.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Oak Island, 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 Island.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with 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 Oak Island:

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 '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 Island) 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 Oak Island, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.