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 Smith Oaks (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 Smith Oaks. 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.
Smith Oaks is located in Grayson 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 Grayson County: Bryan (OK), Love (OK), Marshall (OK), Collin, Cooke, Denton & Fannin.
Below are the counties that are near Smith Oaks. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Smith Oaks:
- Grayson County (The home county of Smith Oaks)
- The following are listed by their distance from Smith Oaks, with the one closest to Smith Oaks listed first.
- Twin City
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Twin City is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin City
- Ida
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Ida is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ida
- Bells
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Whiterock
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Whiterock is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiterock
- Luella
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Luella is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luella
- Tribune
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Tribune is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tribune
- Sherman
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Denison
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Frontier Village
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Frontier Village is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frontier Village
- Knollwood
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Knollwood is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knollwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 503 people
- Tom Bean
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Kentucky Town
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Kentucky Town is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kentucky Town
- Red River City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Red River City is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red River City
- Collin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smith Oaks, with the one closest to Smith Oaks listed first.
- Van Alstyne
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Sedalia
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Sedalia is located in Collin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedalia
- Mantua ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Mantua is located in Collin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mantua
- Westminster
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Anna
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Weston
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Blue Ridge
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Valdasta
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Valdasta is located in Collin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valdasta
- Frognot
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Frognot is located in Collin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frognot
- Melissa
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Altoga
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Altoga is located in Collin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altoga
- Roland
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Roland is located in Collin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roland
- Celina
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Cooke County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smith Oaks, with the one closest to Smith Oaks listed first.
- Dexter
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Dexter is located in Cooke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dexter
- Callisburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Callisburg is located in Cooke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Callisburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 367 people
- Lake Kiowa
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Fannin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smith Oaks, with the one closest to Smith Oaks listed first.
- Savoy
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Whitewright
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Ector
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Mulberry
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Mulberry is located in Fannin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mulberry
- Ravenna
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Orangeville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Orangeville is located in Fannin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orangeville
- Boyd
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Boyd is located in Fannin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyd
- Edhube
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Edhube is located in Fannin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edhube
- Randolph
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Trenton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Bonham
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Ridings
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Ridings is located in Fannin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridings
- Sowells Bluff
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Sowells Bluff is located in Fannin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sowells Bluff
- Hunt County
- Celeste
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bryan County (OK)
- The following are listed by their distance from Smith Oaks, with the one closest to Smith Oaks listed first.
- Hendrix
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Kemp
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Cartwright
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Colbert
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Achille
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Yarnaby
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Yarnaby is located in Bryan County (OK)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yarnaby
- Platter
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Yuba
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Yuba is located in Bryan County (OK)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yuba
- Calera
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Durant
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Mead
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Albany
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Silo
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Silo is located in Bryan County (OK)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 370 people
- Marshall County (OK)
- The following are listed by their distance from Smith Oaks, with the one closest to Smith Oaks listed first.
- McBride
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- McBride is located in Marshall County (OK)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McBride
- New Woodville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- New Woodville is located in Marshall County (OK)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Woodville
- Population from the 2010 Census: 132 people
- Shay
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Shay is located in Marshall County (OK)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shay
- Kingston
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Cumberland
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Cumberland is located in Marshall County (OK)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Smith Oaks, see our County-by-County Page for Smith Oaks.
Cemeteries Near Smith Oaks ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Smith Oaks.
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 Smith Oaks - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Smith Oaks covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Smith Oaks, with the one closest to Smith Oaks listed first.
- Isom Family Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Cherry Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Cemetery
- The Cherry Cemetery has also been known as:
- Smith Oaks Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2885 <2>
- Bethany Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Blue Creek Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Creek Cemetery
- The Blue Creek Cemetery has also been known as:
- Ida Cemetery
- Independence Springs Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2445099 <2>
- Antioch Baptist Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Dripping Spring Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Bigbee Family Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Washburn Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Francis Family Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Francis Family Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Francis Family Cemetery is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<3> to the northwest of Bells.
- The Francis Family Cemetery has also been known as:
- Francis Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2293580 <2>
- Goff Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Allred Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Dugan Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dugan Cemetery
- The Dugan Cemetery has also been known as:
- Dugan Chapel Cemetery
- Dugan - Whiting Cemetery
- Dugans Chapel Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2291068 <2>
- Continue List (309 more) ...
- Taylor Family Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Cottonwood Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- The Cottonwood Cemetery is located on private property - be sure to secure permission before visiting.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottonwood Cemetery
- The Cottonwood Cemetery has also been known as:
- Taylor Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2397598 <2>
- Burleson Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
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 Smith Oaks in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Smith Oaks.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Smith Oaks, with the one closest to Smith Oaks listed first.
- Ida
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Ida is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ida
- Bells
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Luella
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Luella is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luella
- Sherman
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Denison
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Savoy
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Tom Bean
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- White Mound
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- White Mound is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Mound
- Kentucky Town
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Kentucky Town is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kentucky Town
- Whitewright
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Howe
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Ray
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Ray is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ray
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Mormon Grove ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Mormon Grove is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mormon Grove
- Ector
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Mulberry
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Mulberry is located in Fannin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mulberry
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Smith Oaks. See our List of 1890's Communities around Smith Oaks.
Newspapers Published in Smith Oaks ...
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 71 newspapers that have been published in the area around Smith Oaks.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Smith Oaks, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Smith Oaks.
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 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 Smith Oaks:
- Websites specific to Texas
- Pages specific to Grayson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Collin County
- Cooke County
- Fannin County
- Hunt County
- Bryan County
- Marshall 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> | 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' (or 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- Smith Oaks) 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 Smith Oaks, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |