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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 Oaklake (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 Oaklake. 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 southwest 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 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.

Oaklake is located in McLennan 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 McLennan County: Bell, Bosque, Coryell, Falls, Hill & Limestone.

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

  • McLennan County     (The home county of Oaklake)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oaklake, with the one closest to Oaklake listed first.
    • Harrison
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Harrison is located in McLennan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrison
    • Hallsburg
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Hallsburg is located in McLennan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallsburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 454 people
    • Elk
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Elk is located in McLennan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk
    • Bellmead
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • East Waco
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • East Waco is located in McLennan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Waco
    • Axtell
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Lacy - Lakeview
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Northcrest
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Northcrest is located in McLennan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northcrest
    • Battle
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Battle is located in McLennan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Battle
    • Elm Mott
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Downsville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Downsville is located in McLennan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Downsville
    • Riesel
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Waco
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Waco is located in McLennan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waco
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 141,377 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Waco <1>
  • Bell County
    • Troy
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Bosque County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oaklake, with the one closest to Oaklake listed first.
    • Greenock
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Greenock is located in Bosque County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenock
    • Valley Mills
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Cayote
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Cayote is located in Bosque County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cayote
    • Laguna Park
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Coryell County
    • McGregor
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
  • Falls County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oaklake, with the one closest to Oaklake listed first.
    • Perry
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Golinda
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Golinda is located in Falls County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golinda
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 610 people
    • Otto
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Satin
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • North Prairie
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • North Prairie is located in Falls County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Prairie
    • McClanahan
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • McClanahan is located in Falls County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McClanahan
    • Marlin
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Chilton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Mooreville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Mooreville is located in Falls County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mooreville
    • Bruceville - Eddy
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Bruceville - Eddy is located in Falls County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruceville - Eddy
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,704 people
    • Stranger
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Stranger is located in Falls County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stranger
    • Lott
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Blevins
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Blevins is located in Falls County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blevins
  • Hill County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oaklake, with the one closest to Oaklake listed first.
    • Mount Calm
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Penelope
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Tyson
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Tyson is located in Hill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyson
    • Abbott
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Hubbard
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Aquilla
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Malone
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Chatt
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Chatt is located in Hill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatt
    • Bynum
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Hillsboro
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
    • Irene
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
    • Peoria
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Peoria is located in Hill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peoria
  • Limestone County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oaklake, with the one closest to Oaklake listed first.
    • Watt
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Watt is located in Limestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watt
    • Prairie Hill
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Kirk
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Kirk is located in Limestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirk
    • Ben Hur
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Ben Hur is located in Limestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ben Hur
    • Delia ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Delia is located in Limestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delia
    • Frosa
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Frosa is located in Limestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frosa
    • Coolidge
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Groesbeck
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Kosse
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Kosse is located in Limestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kosse
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 463 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kosse <1>
    • Thornton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Tehuacana
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Navarro County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oaklake, with the one closest to Oaklake listed first.
    • Dawson
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Spring Hill
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Spring Hill is located in Navarro County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill

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

Cemeteries Near Oaklake ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Oaklake.

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

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

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

  • Santa Cruz Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Goshen Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Harper Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Miller Memorial Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Rosemound Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Pavelka Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Hopewell Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Concord Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Holy Cross Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holy Cross Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Holy Cross Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the east of Waco.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #374686 <2>
  • Oakwood Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Oakwood Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located outside and to the east of Waco.
    • The Oakwood Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Park Lawn Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #5694 <2>
  • Restland Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (184 more) ...
    • Jacob - Sholom Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Rosemound Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Axtell 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 Oaklake in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Oaklake.

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

  • Harrison
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Harrison is located in McLennan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrison
  • East Waco
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • East Waco is located in McLennan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Waco
  • Axtell
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Battle
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Battle is located in McLennan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Battle
  • Waco
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Waco is located in McLennan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waco
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 141,377 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Waco <1>
  • Downs
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Downs is located in McLennan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Downs
  • Downsville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Downsville is located in McLennan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Downsville
  • Riesel
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Elm Mott
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Robinson
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Mart
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Mart is located in McLennan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mart
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,983 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mart <1>
  • Rosenthal
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Rosenthal is located in McLennan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosenthal
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Bosqueville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Bosqueville is located in McLennan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bosqueville
    • Perry
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Ross
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Ross is located in McLennan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ross
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 272 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ross <1>

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

Newspapers Published in Oaklake ...

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 164 newspapers that have been published in the area around Oaklake.

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

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 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 Oaklake:

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 Oaklake, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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- Oaklake) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.