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 Ridge (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 Ridge. 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 Ridge ...
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 Ridge: Oak Rdg. (or less commonly used: Oak Rdge. or Oak Ridg.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Oak Ridge. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Oak Ridge.
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 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 Ridge is located in Nacogdoches 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 Nacogdoches County: Angelina, Cherokee, Rusk, San Augustine & Shelby.
Below are the counties that are near Oak Ridge. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Oak Ridge:
- Nacogdoches County (The home county of Oak Ridge)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Swift
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Swift is located in Nacogdoches County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swift
- Woden
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Nacogdoches
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Martinsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Attoyac
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Attoyac is located in Nacogdoches County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Attoyac
- Appleby
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Appleby is located in Nacogdoches County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Appleby
- Population from the 2020 Census: 444 people
- Redfield
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Redfield is located in Nacogdoches County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redfield
- Chireno
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Fitze
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Fitze is located in Nacogdoches County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitze
- Whispering Pines
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Whispering Pines is located in Nacogdoches County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whispering Pines
- Etoile
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Alazan
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Alazan is located in Nacogdoches County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alazan
- Garrison
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Angelina County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Platt
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Platt is located in Angelina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Platt
- River Crest Estates
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- River Crest Estates is located in Angelina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Crest Estates
- Thomas Crossing
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Thomas Crossing is located in Angelina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomas Crossing
- Moffitt
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Moffitt is located in Angelina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moffitt
- Ewing
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Ewing is located in Angelina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ewing
- Alco
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Alco is located in Angelina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alco
- Davisville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Davisville is located in Angelina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davisville
- Redland
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Redland is located in Angelina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redland
- Dunagan
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Dunagan is located in Angelina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunagan
- Rocky Springs
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Rocky Springs is located in Angelina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Springs
- Cedar Grove
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Cedar Grove is located in Angelina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
- Herty
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Herty is located in Angelina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herty
- Central
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Central is located in Angelina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central
- Cherokee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Wells
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Forest
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Forest is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest
- Panola County
- Dotson
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Dotson is located in Panola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dotson
- Rusk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Caledonia
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Caledonia is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caledonia
- Concord
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Concord is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- Mount Enterprise
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Sulphur Springs
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Sulphur Springs is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sulphur Springs
- Oak Flats
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Oak Flats is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Flats
- San Augustine County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Denning
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Denning is located in San Augustine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denning
- Broaddus
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- San Augustine
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Maxey Town
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Maxey Town is located in San Augustine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxey Town
- Zana ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Zana is located in San Augustine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zana
- White City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- White City is located in San Augustine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
- Shelby County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Arcadia
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Arcadia is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcadia
- Short
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Short is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Short
- Choice
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Choice is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Choice
- Timpson
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Center
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Africa ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Africa is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Africa
- Shelbyville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Oak Ridge, see our County-by-County Page for Oak Ridge.
Cemeteries Near Oak Ridge ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Oak Ridge.
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 Ridge - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Oak Ridge covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Fellowview Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fellowview Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Fellowview Cemetery is located between<2> the communities of Nacogdoches and Woden. The cemetery lies 3 miles [4.8 km]<3> to the northwest of Woden.
- The Fellowview Cemetery has also been known as:
- Fellowship Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #3567 <4>
- King Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Moroney Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- King Moore Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Jacob Chapel Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Post Oak Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Christian Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christian Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Christian Cemetery is located 5 miles [8 km]<3> to the south of Nacogdoches.
- Pilgrim Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Moss Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Sunset Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Old North Church Afro-American Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Old North Church Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old North Church Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Old North Church Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 4 miles [6.4 km]<3> to the north of Nacogdoches.
- The Old North Church Cemetery has also been known as:
- Old North Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #282377 <4>
- Continue List (236 more) ...
- Pine Knot Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Wisner Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Arriola / Cook Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arriola / Cook Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Arriola / Cook Cemetery is located 4 miles [6.4 km]<3> to the southwest of Nacogdoches.
- The Arriola / Cook Cemetery has also been known as:
- Arriola Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2427562 <4>
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.<5>
While we didn't find Oak Ridge in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Oak Ridge.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Melrose
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Melrose is located in Nacogdoches County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose
- Woden
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Swift
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Swift is located in Nacogdoches County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swift
- Nacogdoches
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Martinsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Appleby
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Appleby is located in Nacogdoches County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Appleby
- Population from the 2020 Census: 444 people
- Redfield
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Redfield is located in Nacogdoches County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redfield
- Chireno
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Etoile
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Fitze
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Fitze is located in Nacogdoches County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitze
- Denning
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Denning is located in San Augustine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denning
- Ironosa
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Ironosa is located in San Augustine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ironosa
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Garrison
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Clawson
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Clawson is located in Angelina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clawson
- Linn Flat
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Linn Flat is located in Nacogdoches County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linn Flat
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Oak Ridge. See our List of 1890's Communities around Oak Ridge.
Newspapers Published in Oak Ridge ...
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 62 newspapers that have been published in the area around Oak Ridge.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Oak Ridge, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Oak Ridge.
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 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 Oak Ridge:
- Websites specific to Texas
- Pages specific to Nacogdoches County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Angelina County
- Cherokee County
- Panola County
- Rusk County
- San Augustine County
- Shelby 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> | To help visualize the location of the cemetery, we've drawn a straight line between the communities of Nacogdoches and Woden. The cemetery can be found near that line and roughly halfway between the two communities. Remember that this is just an approximate location. |
| <3> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Oak Ridge) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | 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 Ridge, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |