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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 Alton (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 Alton. 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 Parishes/Counties ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring parishes/counties.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the southwest corner of their home parish. During their lives, most doctors were in the next parish to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the parish to the south.

So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring parishes/counties instead of the parish in which they lived:  their home parish contained property and probate records; the parish to the west contained birth and death records; the parish to the south contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring parishes/counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Alton is located in Saint Tammany Parish.

To see how the shape of Louisiana's parishes have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following parishes adjoin and form the boundaries of Saint Tammany Parish: Jefferson, Orleans, Tangipahoa, Washington, Hancock (MS) & Pearl River (MS).

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

  • Saint Tammany Parish     (The home parish of Alton)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alton, with the one closest to Alton listed first.
    • Northwood Village
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Northwood Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northwood Village
      • Northwood Village is located in Saint Tammany Parish
    • Tanglewood Village
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tanglewood Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tanglewood Village
      • Tanglewood Village is located in Saint Tammany Parish
    • Lake Village
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Village
      • Lake Village is located in Saint Tammany Parish
    • Browns Village
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Browns Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browns Village
      • Browns Village is located in Saint Tammany Parish
    • Pearl River
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Bon Village
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bon Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bon Village
      • Bon Village is located in Saint Tammany Parish
    • Slidell
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slidell
      • Slidell is located in Saint Tammany Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 27,541 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Slidell <2>
    • Huntwyck Village
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Huntwyck Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntwyck Village
      • Huntwyck Village is located in Saint Tammany Parish
    • Lake Shore Village
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Shore Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Shore Village
      • Lake Shore Village is located in Saint Tammany Parish
    • McClane City
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McClane City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McClane City
      • McClane City is located in Saint Tammany Parish
    • Hickory
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory
      • Hickory is located in Saint Tammany Parish
    • Eden Isle
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eden Isle have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden Isle
      • Eden Isle is located in Saint Tammany Parish
  • Orleans Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alton, with the one closest to Alton listed first.
    • Pine Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pine Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Village
      • Pine Village is located in Orleans Parish
    • Milneburg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Milneburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milneburg
      • Milneburg is located in Orleans Parish
  • Saint Bernard Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alton, with the one closest to Alton listed first.
    • Versailles
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Versailles have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Versailles
      • Versailles is located in Saint Bernard Parish
    • Meraux
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Meraux have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meraux
      • Meraux is located in Saint Bernard Parish
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Meraux <2>
    • Saxonholm
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saxonholm have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saxonholm
      • Saxonholm is located in Saint Bernard Parish
    • Arabi
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Chalmette
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chalmette have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalmette
      • Chalmette is located in Saint Bernard Parish
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chalmette <2>
    • Mohawk City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mohawk City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mohawk City
      • Mohawk City is located in Saint Bernard Parish
  • Washington Parish
    • Lees Creek
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lees Creek
      • Lees Creek is located in Washington Parish
  • Hancock County (MS)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alton, with the one closest to Alton listed first.
    • Gainesville ‑ Historic
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gainesville
      • Gainesville is located in Hancock County (MS)
    • Logtown ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Logtown
      • Logtown is located in Hancock County (MS)
    • Napoleon
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Napoleon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Napoleon
      • Napoleon is located in Hancock County (MS)
    • Pearlington
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Kiln
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Lakeshore
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeshore
      • Lakeshore is located in Hancock County (MS)
    • Shoreline Park
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shoreline Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shoreline Park
      • Shoreline Park is located in Hancock County (MS)
    • Waveland
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Waveland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waveland
      • Waveland is located in Hancock County (MS)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,315 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Waveland <2>
    • Diamondhead
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Diamondhead have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diamondhead
      • Diamondhead is located in Hancock County (MS)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Diamondhead <2>
    • Bay Saint Louis
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bay Saint Louis have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay Saint Louis
      • Bay Saint Louis is located in Hancock County (MS)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 14,529 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bay Saint Louis <2>
    • Necaise
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Necaise
      • Necaise is located in Hancock County (MS)
  • Harrison County (MS)
    • Pass Christian
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Pearl River County (MS)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alton, with the one closest to Alton listed first.
    • Nicholson
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicholson
      • Nicholson is located in Pearl River County (MS)
    • Picayune
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Picayune have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Picayune
      • Picayune is located in Pearl River County (MS)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,886 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Picayune <2>

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

Newspapers Published in Alton ...

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 19 newspapers that have been published in the area around Alton.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Alton, there are papers which were published within 7 miles [11.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Alton.

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 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 Alton:

Cemeteries Near Alton ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Alton.

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

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

  • Amos Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Amos Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Amos Cemetery
  • Little Zion Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Little Zion Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Little Zion Cemetery
  • Haaswood Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Haaswood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Haaswood Cemetery
  • Porters Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Porters Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Porters Cemetery
  • Forest Lawn Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Crawford Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Green Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Green Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Green Cemetery
  • Parker Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Parker Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Parker Cemetery
  • Morgan Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Our Lady of Lourdes Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Harrison Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Harrison Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Harrison Cemetery
  • Continue List   (158 more) ...
    • Slidell Memorial Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Oddfellow Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • The Oddfellow Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Odd Fellow Cemetery
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oddfellow Cemetery
    • Gauss Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gauss Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gauss 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.<5>

While we didn't find Alton in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Alton.

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

  • Slidell
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slidell
    • Slidell is located in Saint Tammany Parish
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 27,541 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Slidell <2>
  • Pearl River
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Gainesville ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gainesville
    • Gainesville is located in Hancock County (MS)
  • Florenville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Florenville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florenville
    • Florenville is located in Saint Tammany Parish
  • Logtown ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Logtown
    • Logtown is located in Hancock County (MS)
  • Pearlington
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Rigolets
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rigolets have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rigolets
    • Rigolets is located in Orleans Parish
  • Lake Catherine
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Catherine have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Catherine
    • Lake Catherine is located in Orleans Parish
  • Talisheek
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Chef Menteur
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chef Menteur have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chef Menteur
    • Chef Menteur is located in Orleans Parish
  • Abita Springs
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Abita Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abita Springs
    • Abita Springs is located in Saint Tammany Parish
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,651 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Abita Springs <2>
  • Mandeville
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mandeville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mandeville
    • Mandeville is located in Saint Tammany Parish
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 12,559 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mandeville <2>
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Kiln
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Waveland
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Waveland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waveland
      • Waveland is located in Hancock County (MS)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,315 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Waveland <2>
    • Covington
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)

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

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

The official website for Saint Tammany Parish: www.stpgov.org/

The official website for State of Louisiana: louisiana.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 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Alton) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Alton. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 30.3307, Longitude: -89.7620       In this case, the coordinates for Alton 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>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 Alton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024