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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 Oakwood (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 Oakwood. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Oakwood is primarily located in Freestone County. A portion of Oakwood extends into Leon 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 Freestone County: Anderson, Leon, Limestone & Navarro.

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

  • Freestone County     (The home county of Oakwood)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oakwood, with the one closest to Oakwood listed first.
    • Butler
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Butler is located in Freestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butler
    • Red Lake
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Red Lake is located in Freestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Lake
    • Lanely
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Lanely is located in Freestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lanely
    • Turlington
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Turlington is located in Freestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turlington
    • Dew
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Dew is located in Freestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dew
    • Fairfield
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Donie
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Freestone
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Freestone is located in Freestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freestone
    • Teague
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Teague is located in Freestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teague
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,526 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Teague <1>
    • Stewards Mill ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Stewards Mill is located in Freestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stewards Mill
    • Kirvin
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Cotton Gin
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Anderson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oakwood, with the one closest to Oakwood listed first.
    • Long Lake
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Long Lake is located in Anderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Lake
    • Tucker
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Tucker is located in Anderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tucker
    • Lakeview Assembly
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Lakeview Assembly is located in Anderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview Assembly
    • Harmony
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Harmony is located in Anderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harmony
    • Massey Lake
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Massey Lake is located in Anderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massey Lake
    • Cronin
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Cronin is located in Anderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cronin
    • Elkhart
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Tennessee Colony
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Palestine
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Salmon
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Salmon is located in Anderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salmon
    • Greens Bluff
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Greens Bluff is located in Anderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greens Bluff
    • Yard ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Yard is located in Anderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yard
    • Deanwright
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Deanwright is located in Anderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deanwright
  • Houston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oakwood, with the one closest to Oakwood listed first.
    • Halls Bluff Town ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Halls Bluff Town is located in Houston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halls Bluff Town
    • Grapeland
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Latexo
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Porter Springs
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Porter Springs is located in Houston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter Springs
    • Refuge
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Refuge is located in Houston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Refuge
    • Cooper
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Cooper is located in Houston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooper
    • Crockett
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Austonio
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Austonio is located in Houston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Austonio
  • Leon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oakwood, with the one closest to Oakwood listed first.
    • Russell
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Russell is located in Leon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell
    • Buffalo
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Centerview
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Centerview is located in Leon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerview
    • Centerville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Jewett
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Newby
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Newby is located in Leon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newby
    • Middleton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Middleton is located in Leon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middleton
    • Concord
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Leona
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Limestone County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oakwood, with the one closest to Oakwood listed first.
    • Farrar
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Farrar is located in Limestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farrar
    • Personville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Personville is located in Limestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Personville

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

Cemeteries Near Oakwood ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Oakwood.

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

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

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

  • Oakwood Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Mt. Pisgah Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Lone Star Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Mayes Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Keechi Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Bluff Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Lamon Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Bacon Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Magnolia Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Willis Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Brooke Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Plum Creek Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (220 more) ...
    • Parker Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Myrtle Springs Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Davis Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Oakwood had a population of 231 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Oakwood had a population of 514 people.

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

  • Long Lake
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Long Lake is located in Anderson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Lake
  • Butler
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Butler is located in Freestone County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butler
  • Keechi
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Keechi is located in Leon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keechi
  • Tucker
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Tucker is located in Anderson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tucker
  • Russell
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Russell is located in Leon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell
  • Buffalo
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Cronin
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Cronin is located in Anderson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cronin
  • Elkhart
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
  • Palestine
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Tennessee Colony
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
  • Dew
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Dew is located in Freestone County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dew
  • Fairfield
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Montalba
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Luna
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Luna is located in Freestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luna
    • Grapeland
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)

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

Newspapers Published in Oakwood ...

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 43 newspapers that have been published in the area around Oakwood.

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

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 Oakwood:

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 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Oakwood) 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 Oakwood, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.