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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 Basile (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 Basile. 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 ...

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

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

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

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

Basile is located in Evangeline Parish.

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

The following parishes adjoin and form the boundaries of Evangeline Parish: Acadia, Allen, Avoyelles, Jefferson Davis, Rapides & Saint Landry.

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

  • Evangeline Parish     (The home parish of Basile)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Basile, with the one closest to Basile listed first.
    • Unatex
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Unatex is located in Evangeline Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unatex
    • Tyrone
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Tyrone is located in Evangeline Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyrone
    • Duralde
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Duralde is located in Evangeline Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duralde
    • Mamou
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Mamou is located in Evangeline Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mamou
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,077 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mamou <1>
    • Reddell
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Chataignier
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Pine Prairie
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Ville Platte
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Bayou Chicot
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Bayou Chicot is located in Evangeline Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Chicot
    • Turkey Creek
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
  • Acadia Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Basile, with the one closest to Basile listed first.
    • Iota
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Iota is located in Acadia Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iota
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,428 people
    • Evangeline
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Ellis
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Ellis is located in Acadia Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellis
    • Egan
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Mermentau
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Branch
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Estherwood
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Church Point
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Crowley
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Morse
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Castille
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Castille is located in Acadia Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castille
    • Higginbotham
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Higginbotham is located in Acadia Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Higginbotham
    • Rayne
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Allen Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Basile, with the one closest to Basile listed first.
    • Coverdale
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Coverdale is located in Allen Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coverdale
    • Lauderdale
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Lauderdale is located in Allen Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lauderdale
    • Elder
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Elder is located in Allen Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elder
    • Oberlin
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Bond
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Bond is located in Allen Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bond
    • Kinder
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Canton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Canton is located in Allen Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canton
    • Ward
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Ward is located in Allen Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ward
    • Le Blanc
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Le Blanc is located in Allen Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Le Blanc
    • Indian Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Indian Village is located in Allen Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Village
    • Oakdale
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Mittie
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Cherry Grove
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Cherry Grove is located in Allen Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Grove
  • Beauregard Parish
  • Calcasieu Parish
    • Iowa
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Iowa is located in Calcasieu Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iowa
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,109 people
  • Jefferson Davis Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Basile, with the one closest to Basile listed first.
    • Elton
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Elton is located in Jefferson Davis Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,134 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elton <1>
    • Jennings
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Jennings is located in Jefferson Davis Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jennings
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,660 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jennings <1>
    • Roanoke
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Fenton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Fenton is located in Jefferson Davis Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fenton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 349 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fenton <1>
    • Welsh
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Welsh is located in Jefferson Davis Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welsh
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,195 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Welsh <1>
    • Lacassine
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Lake Arthur
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
  • Lafayette Parish
    • Duson
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Duson is located in Lafayette Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,761 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Duson <1>
  • Saint Landry Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Basile, with the one closest to Basile listed first.
    • Eunice
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Eunice is located in Saint Landry Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eunice
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,655 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eunice <1>
    • Lawtell
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Lewisburg
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Lewisburg is located in Saint Landry Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewisburg
    • Cankton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Cankton is located in Saint Landry Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cankton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 504 people

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

Cemeteries Near Basile ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Basile.

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

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

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

  • Chretien Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Langley Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Cole Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • St. Peters Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • China Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Reed Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Cezar Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Sonnier Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Bertrand Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Riche Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Ashford Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Veillon Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (149 more) ...
    • Liberty Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Duplechien Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • St. Louis Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Louis Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Louis Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southwest of Eunice.
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1162440 <3>

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

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

  • Cartville ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Cartville is located in Acadia Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cartville
  • Prudhomme
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Prudhomme is located in Acadia Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prudhomme
  • Mermentau
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
  • Estherwood
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
  • Crowley
    (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
  • Church Point
    (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
  • Rayne
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Plaisance
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Plaisance is located in Saint Landry Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plaisance

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Basile ...

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 24 newspapers that have been published in the area around Basile.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Basile. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Basile and those printed in the larger area surrounding Basile.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<2> of Basile.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with 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 Basile:

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>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 from Point A (ie- Basile) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.
<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 Basile, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.