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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 Oakdale (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 Oakdale. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals 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.

Oakdale is located in Franklin 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 Franklin County: Camp, Hopkins, Lamar, Red River, Titus & Wood.

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

  • Franklin County     (The home county of Oakdale)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oakdale, with the one closest to Oakdale listed first.
    • Hagansport
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Hagansport is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hagansport
    • Mount Vernon
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Purley
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Purley is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Purley
    • Scroggins
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Winnsboro
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
  • Camp County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oakdale, with the one closest to Oakdale listed first.
    • Leesburg
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Rocky Mound
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Rocky Mound is located in Camp County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Mound
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 78 people
    • Harvard
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Harvard is located in Camp County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvard
    • Pittsburg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Delta County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oakdale, with the one closest to Oakdale listed first.
    • Charleston
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Charleston is located in Delta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charleston
    • Lake Creek
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Enloe
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Cooper
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Klondike
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Ben Franklin
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Hopkins County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oakdale, with the one closest to Oakdale listed first.
    • Sulphur Bluff
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Saltillo
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Weaver
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Weaver is located in Hopkins County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weaver
    • Dike
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Nelta
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Nelta is located in Hopkins County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nelta
    • Greenwood
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Greenwood is located in Hopkins County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
    • Tira
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Tira is located in Hopkins County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tira
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 311 people
    • Birthright
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Birthright is located in Hopkins County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birthright
    • Pickton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Como
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Como is located in Hopkins County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Como
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 723 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Como <1>
    • Sulphur Springs
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Posey
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Posey is located in Hopkins County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Posey
  • Lamar County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oakdale, with the one closest to Oakdale listed first.
    • Cunningham
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Taylor Town
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Taylor Town is located in Lamar County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylor Town
    • Deport
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Clardy
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Clardy is located in Lamar County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clardy
    • Pattonville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Biardstown
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Biardstown is located in Lamar County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Biardstown
    • Frog Hop ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Frog Hop is located in Lamar County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frog Hop
    • Gadston
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Gadston is located in Lamar County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gadston
    • Glory
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Glory is located in Lamar County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glory
    • Broadway
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Broadway is located in Lamar County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broadway
    • Sylvan
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Sylvan is located in Lamar County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvan
    • Howland
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Howland is located in Lamar County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howland
  • Red River County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oakdale, with the one closest to Oakdale listed first.
    • Halesboro
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Halesboro is located in Red River County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halesboro
    • Bogata
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Bogata is located in Red River County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bogata
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,063 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bogata <1>
    • Cuthand
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Cuthand is located in Red River County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuthand
    • Sherry
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Sherry is located in Red River County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherry
    • Liberty
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Liberty is located in Red River County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
    • Detroit
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Clarksville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Bagwell
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Boxelder
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Boxelder is located in Red River County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boxelder
    • Annona
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Titus County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oakdale, with the one closest to Oakdale listed first.
    • Talco
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Miller's Cove
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Miller's Cove is located in Titus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miller's Cove
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 175 people
    • Winfield
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Green Hill
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Green Hill is located in Titus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Hill
    • Mount Pleasant
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Cookville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
  • Upshur County
    • Piney Grove
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Piney Grove is located in Upshur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piney Grove
  • Wood County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oakdale, with the one closest to Oakdale listed first.
    • Coke
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Coke is located in Wood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coke
    • Cartwright
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Cartwright is located in Wood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cartwright
    • Stout
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Stout is located in Wood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stout
    • Yantis
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Perryville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Perryville is located in Wood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perryville

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

Cemeteries Near Oakdale ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Oakdale.

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

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

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

  • Colliers Chapel Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Fairview Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Keith Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Stouts Creek Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Hagansport Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Bennett Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Old Saltillo Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Murphy Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Connor Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Friendship Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • McCrory Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Restland Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (165 more) ...
    • Glade Springs Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Prairie Academy Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Wims Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)

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

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

  • Hagansport
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Hagansport is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hagansport
  • Saltillo
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Sulphur Bluff
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Mount Vernon
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Weaver
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Weaver is located in Hopkins County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weaver
  • Dike
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Nelta
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Nelta is located in Hopkins County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nelta
  • Pine Forest
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Pine Forest is located in Hopkins County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Forest
  • Purley
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Purley is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Purley
  • Halesboro
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Halesboro is located in Red River County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halesboro
  • Minter
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Minter is located in Lamar County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minter
  • Bogata
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Bogata is located in Red River County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bogata
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,063 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bogata <1>
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Rosalie
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Rosalie is located in Red River County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosalie
    • Charleston
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Charleston is located in Delta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charleston
    • Birthright
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Birthright is located in Hopkins County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birthright

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

Newspapers Published in Oakdale ...

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 36 newspapers that have been published in the area around Oakdale.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Oakdale, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Oakdale.

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 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 Oakdale:

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 Oakdale, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Oakdale) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.