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 Oakland (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 Oakland. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and 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.
Oakland is located in Cherokee 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 Cherokee County: Anderson, Angelina, Henderson, Houston, Nacogdoches, Rusk & Smith.
Below are the counties that are near Oakland. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Oakland:
- Cherokee County (The home county of Oakland)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakland, with the one closest to Oakland listed first.
- Dialville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Dialville is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dialville
- Rusk
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Maydelle
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Turney
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Turney is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turney
- Gallatin
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- New Birmingham ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- New Birmingham is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Birmingham
- Jacksonville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Ponta
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Ponta is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ponta
- New Summerfield
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Reklaw
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Alto
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Weeping Mary
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Weeping Mary is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weeping Mary
- Anderson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakland, with the one closest to Oakland listed first.
- Herring
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Herring is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herring
- Jarvis
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Jarvis is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jarvis
- Todd City
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Todd City is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Todd City
- Alderbranch
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Alderbranch is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alderbranch
- Neches
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Crystal Lake
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Crystal Lake is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Lake
- Kossuth
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Kossuth is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kossuth
- Mound City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Mound City is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mound City
- Slocum
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Slocum is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slocum
- Deanwright
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Deanwright is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deanwright
- Pert
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Pert is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pert
- Wells Creek
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Wells Creek is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wells Creek
- Henderson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakland, with the one closest to Oakland listed first.
- Berryville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Berryville is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berryville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,066 people
- Coffee City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Coffee City is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coffee City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 299 people
- Poynor
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Houston County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakland, with the one closest to Oakland listed first.
- Weches
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Weches is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weches
- Bluff City ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Bluff City is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City
- Refuge
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Refuge is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Refuge
- Belott
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Belott is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belott
- Tadmor
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Tadmor is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tadmor
- Grapeland
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Harrison Town
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Harrison Town is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrison Town
- Ratcliff
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Hickory Creek
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Hickory Creek is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Creek
- Nacogdoches County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakland, with the one closest to Oakland listed first.
- Dextra
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Dextra is located in Nacogdoches County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dextra
- Sacul
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Cushing
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Looneyville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Looneyville is located in Nacogdoches County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Looneyville
- Douglass
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Nat
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Nat is located in Nacogdoches County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nat
- Trawick
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Trawick is located in Nacogdoches County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trawick
- Alazan
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Alazan is located in Nacogdoches County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alazan
- Rusk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakland, with the one closest to Oakland listed first.
- New Salem
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- New Salem is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Salem
- Big Springs
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Big Springs is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Springs
- Laneville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Sulphur Springs
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Sulphur Springs is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sulphur Springs
- Price
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Oak Flats
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Oak Flats is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Flats
- Selman City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Turnertown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Turnertown is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turnertown
- Smith County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakland, with the one closest to Oakland listed first.
- Teaselville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Teaselville is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teaselville
- Flint
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Sinclair City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Sinclair City is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sinclair City
- Dogwood City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Dogwood City is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dogwood City
- Lee Spring
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Lee Spring is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lee Spring
- Omen
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Omen is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Omen
- Whitehouse
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Arp
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Wright City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Wright City is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wright City
- Gresham
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Gresham is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gresham
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Oakland, see our County-by-County Page for Oakland.
Cemeteries Near Oakland ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Oakland.
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 Oakland - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Oakland covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Oakland, with the one closest to Oakland listed first.
- Oakland Baptist Church Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Ford Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Holly Springs Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Jones Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jones Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Jones Cemetery is located 4 miles [6.4 km]<2> to the northwest of Rusk.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #4546 <3>
- Old Prison Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Kilgore Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Mt. Hope Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Cedar Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- State Hospital Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Rowe Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Mt. Comfort Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Providence Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Continue List (330 more) ...
- Russell Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Mosley Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Weems Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
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 Oakland in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Oakland.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Oakland, with the one closest to Oakland listed first.
- Rusk
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- New Birmingham ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- New Birmingham is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Birmingham
- Jacksonville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Alto
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Lone Star
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Lone Star is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Star
- Alderbranch
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Alderbranch is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alderbranch
- Linwood
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Linwood is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linwood
- Neches
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Mount Selman
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Mount Selman is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Selman
- Larissa ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Larissa is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larissa
- New Salem
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- New Salem is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Salem
- Griffin
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Griffin is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffin
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Weches
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Weches is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weches
- Mixon
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Mixon is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mixon
- Augusta
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Augusta is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Augusta
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Oakland. See our List of 1890's Communities around Oakland.
Newspapers Published in Oakland ...
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 59 newspapers that have been published in the area around Oakland.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Oakland, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Oakland.
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 Oakland:
- Websites specific to Texas
- Pages specific to Cherokee County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Anderson County
- Henderson County
- Houston County
- Nacogdoches County
- Rusk County
- Smith 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> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Oakland) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <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 Oakland, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |