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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 Onalaska (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 Onalaska. 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 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 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.

Onalaska is located in Polk 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 Polk County: Angelina, Hardin, Liberty, San Jacinto, Trinity & Tyler.

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

  • Polk County     (The home county of Onalaska)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Onalaska, with the one closest to Onalaska listed first.
    • Bold Springs
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Bold Springs is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bold Springs
    • West Livingston
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • West Livingston is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Livingston
    • New Willard
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • New Willard is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Willard
    • Livingston
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Leggett
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Lamont
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Lamont is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamont
    • Swartout ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Swartout is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swartout
    • Seven Oaks
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Seven Oaks is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Oaks
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 131 people
    • Goodrich
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Moscow
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Corrigan
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Indian Springs
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Indian Springs is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Springs
    • Schwab City
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Schwab City is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schwab City
  • Houston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Onalaska, with the one closest to Onalaska listed first.
    • Holly
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Holly is located in Houston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly
    • Lovelady
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Antioch ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Antioch is located in Houston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antioch
  • Liberty County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Onalaska, with the one closest to Onalaska listed first.
    • Africa ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Africa is located in Liberty County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Africa
    • Rayburn
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Rayburn is located in Liberty County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rayburn
    • Romayor
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Big Thicket Creekmore Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • San Jacinto County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Onalaska, with the one closest to Onalaska listed first.
    • Point Blank
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Oakhurst
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Coldspring
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Laurel Hill
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Laurel Hill is located in San Jacinto County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Hill
    • Evergreen
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Evergreen is located in San Jacinto County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen
    • Shepherd
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Magnolia
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Magnolia is located in San Jacinto County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia
  • Trinity County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Onalaska, with the one closest to Onalaska listed first.
    • Carlisle
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Carlisle is located in Trinity County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlisle
    • Chita
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Chita is located in Trinity County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chita
    • Woodlake
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Woodlake is located in Trinity County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodlake
    • Sumpter ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Sumpter is located in Trinity County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumpter
    • Groveton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Glendale
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Glendale is located in Trinity County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendale
    • Mill Town
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Mill Town is located in Trinity County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Town
    • Trinity
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Lacy
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Lacy is located in Trinity County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacy
      • Lacy has also been known as:
      • Lacey
    • Friday
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Friday is located in Trinity County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friday
    • Helmic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Helmic is located in Trinity County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helmic
    • Pennington
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Apple Springs
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • Tyler County
    • Peach Tree Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Peach Tree Village is located in Tyler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peach Tree Village
  • Walker County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Onalaska, with the one closest to Onalaska listed first.
    • Dodge
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Riverside
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Kittrell
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Kittrell is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kittrell
    • Barado
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Barado is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barado
    • Elmina
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Elmina is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmina
    • Huntsville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • New Waverly
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Onalaska ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Onalaska.

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

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

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

  • St. Andrew Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Wright Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Robinett Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Liberty Hill Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Robinson Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Bethel Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • McGown Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Mt. Zion Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Harrell Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Mt. Capers Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Carter Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Greenfield Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (125 more) ...

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

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

  • Point Blank
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Colita
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Colita is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colita
  • Livingston
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Leggett
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Coldspring
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
  • Seven Oaks
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Seven Oaks is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Oaks
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 131 people
  • Carmona
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Carmona is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carmona
  • Josserand
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Josserand is located in Trinity County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Josserand
  • Goodrich
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Dodge
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
  • Groveton
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
  • Riverside
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Evergreen
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Evergreen is located in San Jacinto County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen
    • Moscow
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Saron
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Saron is located in Trinity County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saron

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Onalaska ...

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 54 newspapers that have been published in the area around Onalaska.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Onalaska. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Onalaska and those printed in the larger area surrounding Onalaska.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<4> of Onalaska.

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 Onalaska:

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