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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 Olney (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 Olney. 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 hospitals and doctors 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.

Olney is located in Young County.

To see how the shape of Texas' counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Young County: Archer, Jack, Palo Pinto, Stephens & Throckmorton.

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

  • Young County     (The home county of Olney)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Olney, with the one closest to Olney listed first.
    • Padgett
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Padgett have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Padgett
      • Padgett is located in Young County
    • Farmer
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmer
      • Farmer is located in Young County
    • Newcastle
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Newcastle have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newcastle
      • Newcastle is located in Young County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 567 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Newcastle <2>
    • Proffitt
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Proffitt
      • Proffitt is located in Young County
    • Loving
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Graham
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Graham have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graham
      • Graham is located in Young County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,568 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Graham <2>
    • Murray
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murray
      • Murray is located in Young County
    • South Bend
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Bunger
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunger
      • Bunger is located in Young County
    • Eliasville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eliasville
      • Eliasville is located in Young County
  • Archer County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Olney, with the one closest to Olney listed first.
    • Anarene ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Anarene have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anarene
      • Anarene is located in Archer County
    • Megargel
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Archer City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Windthorst
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Scotland
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scotland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotland
      • Scotland is located in Archer County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 482 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Scotland <2>
    • Dundee
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dundee
      • Dundee is located in Archer County
  • Baylor County
    • Round Timber ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Round Timber have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Timber
      • Round Timber is located in Baylor County
  • Clay County
    • Shannon
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shannon
      • Shannon is located in Clay County
  • Jack County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Olney, with the one closest to Olney listed first.
    • Jermyn
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Antelope
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Antelope have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antelope
      • Antelope is located in Jack County
    • Bryson
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bryson have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryson
      • Bryson is located in Jack County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 533 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bryson <2>
    • Bob Town
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bob Town have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bob Town
      • Bob Town is located in Jack County
  • Throckmorton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Olney, with the one closest to Olney listed first.
    • Elbert
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elbert have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elbert
      • Elbert is located in Throckmorton County
    • Throckmorton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Woodson
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodson have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodson
      • Woodson is located in Throckmorton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 237 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Woodson <2>

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Olney ...

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 23 newspapers that have been published in the area around Olney.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Olney. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Olney and those printed in the larger area surrounding Olney.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<3> of Olney.

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 helpful 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 Olney:

Cemeteries Near Olney ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Olney.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

  • Pioneer Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • St. Luke Lutheran Church Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Orth Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Orth Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Orth Cemetery
  • Reynolds Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Reynolds Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Reynolds Cemetery
  • Newcastle Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Padgett Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Padgett Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Padgett Cemetery
  • West Fork Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Indian Mound Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Megargel Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Proffitt Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Proffitt Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Proffitt Cemetery
  • Woolfolk Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Woolfolk Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Woolfolk Cemetery
  • Belknap Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Belknap Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Belknap Cemetery
  • Continue List   (44 more) ...
    • Hawkins Chapel Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hawkins Chapel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hawkins Chapel Cemetery
    • Wray Cemetery
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wray Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wray Cemetery
    • Kickapoo Cemetery
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Kickapoo Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<5>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Kickapoo Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #4624 <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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Olney had a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Olney had a population of 3,074 people.

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

  • Farmer
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmer
    • Farmer is located in Young County
  • Spring Creek
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Creek
    • Spring Creek is located in Throckmorton County
  • Markley
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Markley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Markley
    • Markley is located in Young County
  • Archer City
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Round Timber ‑ Historic
    (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Round Timber have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Timber
    • Round Timber is located in Baylor County
  • Graham
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Graham have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graham
    • Graham is located in Young County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,568 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Graham <2>
  • Murray
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murray
    • Murray is located in Young County
  • Antelope
    (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Antelope have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antelope
    • Antelope is located in Jack County
  • South Bend
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
  • Bryson
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bryson have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryson
    • Bryson is located in Jack County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 533 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bryson <2>
  • Throckmorton
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Eliasville
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eliasville
    • Eliasville is located in Young County
  • Dundee
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dundee
    • Dundee is located in Archer County

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

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Olney. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for State of Texas: https://texas.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Olney) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Olney. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.3644, Longitude: -98.7584       In this case, the coordinates for Olney have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<6>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 Olney, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024