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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 Bear Creek (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 Bear Creek. 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.

Name Variations for Bear Creek ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Bear Creek: Bear Crk. (or less commonly used: Bear Ck. or Bear Cr.)

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Bear Creek. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Bear Creek.

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

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 northwest corner of their home parish. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next parish to the west. 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 west 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.

Bear Creek is located in Bienville 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 Bienville Parish: Bossier, Claiborne, Jackson, Lincoln, Natchitoches, Red River, Webster & Winn.

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

  • Bienville Parish     (The home parish of Bear Creek)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bear Creek, with the one closest to Bear Creek listed first.
    • Bryceland
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Bryceland is located in Bienville Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryceland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 99 people
    • Bienville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Liberty Hill
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Liberty Hill is located in Bienville Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Hill
    • Sparta
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Sparta is located in Bienville Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sparta
    • Mount Lebanon
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Mount Lebanon is located in Bienville Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Lebanon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 69 people
    • Arcadia
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Gibsland
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Lucky
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Lucky is located in Bienville Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucky
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 252 people
    • Taylor
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Burkplace
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Burkplace is located in Bienville Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burkplace
    • English
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • English is located in Bienville Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for English
    • Jamestown
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
  • Claiborne Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bear Creek, with the one closest to Bear Creek listed first.
    • Darley
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Darley is located in Claiborne Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darley
    • Athens
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Sugar Creek
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Sugar Creek is located in Claiborne Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Creek
    • Holly Springs
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Holly Springs is located in Claiborne Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Springs
    • Arizona
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Arizona is located in Claiborne Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arizona
    • Homer
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Homer is located in Claiborne Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homer
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,789 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Homer <1>
    • Lisbon
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
  • Jackson Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bear Creek, with the one closest to Bear Creek listed first.
    • Quitman
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Ansley
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Ansley is located in Jackson Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ansley
    • Hodge
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • North Hodge
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • North Hodge is located in Jackson Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Hodge
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 372 people
    • East Hodge
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • East Hodge is located in Jackson Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Hodge
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 270 people
    • Jonesboro
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Weston
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Weston is located in Jackson Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weston
    • Dalley ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Dalley is located in Jackson Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dalley
    • Cartwright
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Cartwright is located in Jackson Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cartwright
    • Chatham
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Nash ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Nash is located in Jackson Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nash
  • Lincoln Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bear Creek, with the one closest to Bear Creek listed first.
    • Simsboro
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Grambling
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Ruston
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Vienna
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Vienna is located in Lincoln Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vienna
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 365 people
    • Vining Mills ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Vining Mills is located in Lincoln Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vining Mills
    • Dubach
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Unionville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Unionville is located in Lincoln Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unionville
    • Choudrant
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Hico
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Hico is located in Lincoln Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hico
    • Cedarton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Cedarton is located in Lincoln Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarton
  • Natchitoches Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bear Creek, with the one closest to Bear Creek listed first.
    • Ashland
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Ashland is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 260 people
    • Chestnut
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Chestnut is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut
    • Goldonna
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
  • Red River Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bear Creek, with the one closest to Bear Creek listed first.
    • Hall Summit
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Martin
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Martin is located in Red River Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 543 people
  • Webster Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bear Creek, with the one closest to Bear Creek listed first.
    • Heflin
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Dubberly
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Buckhorn ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Buckhorn is located in Webster Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckhorn
    • Sibley
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Yellow Pine
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Yellow Pine is located in Webster Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Pine
    • Minden
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Dixie Inn
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Dixie Inn is located in Webster Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixie Inn
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 266 people
    • Doyline
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
  • Winn Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bear Creek, with the one closest to Bear Creek listed first.
    • Pine Ridge
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Pine Ridge is located in Winn Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Ridge
    • Gansville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Gansville is located in Winn Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gansville
    • Dodson
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Bethlehem
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Bethlehem is located in Winn Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethlehem
    • Coldwater
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Coldwater is located in Winn Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coldwater

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

Cemeteries Near Bear Creek ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bear Creek.

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 Bear Creek - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Holder Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Camp Ground Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Mt. Gillard Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Taylor Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Liberty Hill Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Old Liberty Hill Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Williamson Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Sparta Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Union Baptist Church Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • New Mt. Calm Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Pruitt Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Oak Grove Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove Cemetery
    • The Oak Grove Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Oak Grove Cumberland Presbyterian Church Cemetery
  • Continue List   (229 more) ...
    • Givens - McGuire Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Butler Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Mt. Lebanon Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)

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.<2>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Bear Creek had railroad service and no post office.

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

  • Bienville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Liberty Hill
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Liberty Hill is located in Bienville Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Hill
  • Sparta
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Sparta is located in Bienville Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sparta
  • Mount Lebanon
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Mount Lebanon is located in Bienville Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Lebanon
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 69 people
  • Blume
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Blume is located in Bienville Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blume
  • Gibsland
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Arcadia
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Friendship
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Friendship is located in Bienville Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendship
  • Burkplace
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Burkplace is located in Bienville Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burkplace
  • Simsboro
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Taylor
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Darley
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Darley is located in Claiborne Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darley
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Athens
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Brown
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Brown is located in Bienville Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brown
    • Saline
      (17 miles [27.4 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 Bear Creek. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bear Creek.

Newspapers Published in Bear Creek ...

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 53 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bear Creek.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bear Creek, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bear Creek.

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 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 Bear Creek:

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>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 Bear Creek, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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- Bear Creek) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.