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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 Ora (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 Ora. 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.

Ora is located in Angelina 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 Angelina County: Cherokee, Houston, Jasper, Nacogdoches, Polk, San Augustine, Trinity & Tyler.

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

  • Angelina County     (The home county of Ora)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ora, with the one closest to Ora listed first.
    • Oak Flat
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oak Flat have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Flat
      • Oak Flat is located in Angelina County
    • Shawnee
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shawnee have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawnee
      • Shawnee is located in Angelina County
    • Thomas Crossing
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Thomas Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomas Crossing
      • Thomas Crossing is located in Angelina County
    • Zavalla
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Huntington
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Huntington have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntington
      • Huntington is located in Angelina County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,079 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Huntington <2>
    • Alco
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alco have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alco
      • Alco is located in Angelina County
    • Shawnee Prairie
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shawnee Prairie have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawnee Prairie
      • Shawnee Prairie is located in Angelina County
    • Dunagan
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dunagan have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunagan
      • Dunagan is located in Angelina County
    • Rocky Springs
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rocky Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Springs
      • Rocky Springs is located in Angelina County
    • Nancy
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nancy
      • Nancy is located in Angelina County
    • Manning ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Manning have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manning
      • Manning is located in Angelina County
    • Homer
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Homer have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homer
      • Homer is located in Angelina County
    • Bald Hill
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bald Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bald Hill
      • Bald Hill is located in Angelina County
  • Jasper County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ora, with the one closest to Ora listed first.
    • Harveytown
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harveytown
      • Harveytown is located in Jasper County
    • Sam Rayburn
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Browndell
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Browndell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browndell
      • Browndell is located in Jasper County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 204 people
  • Nacogdoches County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ora, with the one closest to Ora listed first.
    • Etoile
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Chireno
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Woden
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Attoyac
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Attoyac
      • Attoyac is located in Nacogdoches County
    • Swift
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Swift have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swift
      • Swift is located in Nacogdoches County
    • Martinsville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Nacogdoches
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Alazan
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alazan
      • Alazan is located in Nacogdoches County
  • Polk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ora, with the one closest to Ora listed first.
    • Skinner Town
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Skinner Town have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skinner Town
      • Skinner Town is located in Polk County
    • Camden
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Camden have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camden
      • Camden is located in Polk County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Camden <2>
    • Corrigan
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Lily Island
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lily Island
      • Lily Island is located in Polk County
  • Sabine County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ora, with the one closest to Ora listed first.
    • Bronson
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bronson have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bronson
      • Bronson is located in Sabine County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bronson <2>
    • Pineland
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Brookeland
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brookeland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookeland
      • Brookeland is located in Sabine County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brookeland <2>
    • Rosevine
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosevine
      • Rosevine is located in Sabine County
  • San Augustine County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ora, with the one closest to Ora listed first.
    • Broaddus
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Broaddus have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broaddus
      • Broaddus is located in San Augustine County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 201 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Broaddus <2>
    • Zana ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Zana. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zana
      • Zana is located in San Augustine County
    • White City
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for White City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
      • White City is located in San Augustine County
    • Denning
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denning
      • Denning is located in San Augustine County
    • Maxey Town
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maxey Town have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxey Town
      • Maxey Town is located in San Augustine County
    • Powell
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powell
      • Powell is located in San Augustine County
    • Rebecca
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rebecca
      • Rebecca is located in San Augustine County
    • San Augustine
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Tyler County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ora, with the one closest to Ora listed first.
    • Colmesneil
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Peach Tree Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Peach Tree Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peach Tree Village
      • Peach Tree Village is located in Tyler County
    • Chester
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)

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

Newspapers Published in Ora ...

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 69 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ora.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ora, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Ora.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Ora:

Cemeteries Near Ora ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ora.

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 Ora covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Brown Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Brown Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Brown Cemetery
  • Harnington Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Harnington Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Harnington Cemetery
  • Cochran Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cochran Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cochran Cemetery
  • Shofner Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Shofner Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Shofner Cemetery
  • McNeil Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • McNiel Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the McNiel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the McNiel Cemetery
  • Ozias Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Smyrna Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Smyrna Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Smyrna Cemetery
  • Lowery Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lowery Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lowery Cemetery
  • Wooten Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wooten Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wooten Cemetery
  • Patterson Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Patterson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Patterson Cemetery
  • Harvey Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Harvey Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Harvey Cemetery
  • Continue List   (231 more) ...
    • Blue Spring Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Blue Spring Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Blue Spring Cemetery
    • Boykin Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Boykin Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • The Boykin Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Gilliland Boykin Cemetery
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Boykin Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2524 <5>
    • Lee Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lee Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lee Cemetery

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, Ora had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Etoile
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Zana ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Zana. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zana
    • Zana is located in San Augustine County
  • Homer
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Homer have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homer
    • Homer is located in Angelina County
  • Chireno
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
  • Woden
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
  • Rockland
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rockland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockland
    • Rockland is located in Tyler County
  • Macune
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Macune have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macune
    • Macune is located in San Augustine County
  • Lufkin
    (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lufkin
    • Lufkin is located in Angelina County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 34,955 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lufkin <2>
  • Denning
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denning
    • Denning is located in San Augustine County
  • Melrose
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Melrose have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose
    • Melrose is located in Nacogdoches County
  • Keltys
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Keltys have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keltys
    • Keltys is located in Angelina County
  • Burke
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burke
    • Burke is located in Angelina County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 727 people
  • Continue List   (12 more) ...
    • Clawson
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clawson have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clawson
      • Clawson is located in Angelina County
    • Swift
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Swift have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swift
      • Swift is located in Nacogdoches County
    • Colmesneil
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)

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

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

The official website for Angelina County: www.angelinacounty.net/

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>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.
<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- Ora) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ora. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 31.2772, Longitude: -94.4275       In this case, the coordinates for Ora have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>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.
<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 Ora, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024