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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 Belleville (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 Belleville. 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 southeast 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 south.

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 south 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.

Belleville is located in Avoyelles 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 Avoyelles Parish: Catahoula, Concordia, Evangeline, La Salle, Pointe Coupee, Rapides & Saint Landry.

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

  • Avoyelles Parish     (The home parish of Belleville)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Belleville, with the one closest to Belleville listed first.
    • Marksville
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Moncla
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Moncla is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moncla
    • Vick
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Vick is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vick
    • Effie
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Egg Bend
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Egg Bend is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egg Bend
    • Hessmer
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Mansura
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Center Point
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • North Point
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • North Point is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Point
    • Moreauville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Bordelonville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Cottonport
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Enterprise
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Enterprise is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enterprise
  • Catahoula Parish
    • Parhams
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Parhams is located in Catahoula Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parhams
  • Concordia Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Belleville, with the one closest to Belleville listed first.
    • Acme
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Armagh
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Armagh is located in Concordia Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armagh
    • Bougere
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Bougere is located in Concordia Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bougere
    • Monterey
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Monterey is located in Concordia Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monterey
  • Evangeline Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Belleville, with the one closest to Belleville listed first.
    • Saint Landry
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Bayou Chicot
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Bayou Chicot is located in Evangeline Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Chicot
    • Turkey Creek
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Grant Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Belleville, with the one closest to Belleville listed first.
    • Creola
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Creola is located in Grant Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creola
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 216 people
      • Creola has also been known as:
      • Creola village
    • Fishville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Fishville is located in Grant Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fishville
  • La Salle Parish
    • Sharp Town
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Sharp Town is located in La Salle Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharp Town
  • Pointe Coupee Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Belleville, with the one closest to Belleville listed first.
    • Legonier
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Legonier is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Legonier
    • Lettsworth
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Smithland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Smithland is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smithland
  • Rapides Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Belleville, with the one closest to Belleville listed first.
    • Echo
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Ruby
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Whittington
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Whittington is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whittington
    • Deville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Kolin
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Cheneyville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Loyd
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Loyd is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loyd
    • Lecompte
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Libuse
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Moreland
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Moreland is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moreland
    • Alexandria Junction
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Alexandria Junction is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexandria Junction
    • Pineville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Anandale
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Anandale is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anandale
  • Saint Landry Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Belleville, with the one closest to Belleville listed first.
    • Morrow
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Bayou Jack
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Bayou Jack is located in Saint Landry Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Jack
    • Boretta
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Boretta is located in Saint Landry Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boretta
    • Rosa
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Rosa is located in Saint Landry Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosa
    • Immaculata
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Immaculata is located in Saint Landry Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Immaculata
    • Lebeau
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Wilkinson County (MS)
    • Artonish
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Artonish is located in Wilkinson County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Artonish

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

Cemeteries Near Belleville ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Belleville.

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

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

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

  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Wadill Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Cushman Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Ft. Derussy Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Old St. Paul Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Bordelon Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • St. Catherine Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • St. Joseph Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Tunica - Biloxi Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Old Island Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • St. John Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Baibry Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (184 more) ...
    • Kalone Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • St. Joseph Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Oak Grove Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 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.<3>

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

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

  • Marksville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Egg Bend
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Egg Bend is located in Avoyelles Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egg Bend
  • Mansura
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Moreauville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Poland
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Poland is located in Rapides Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poland
  • Bordelonville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Cottonport
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Hamburg
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Bunkie
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Bunkie is located in Avoyelles Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunkie
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,826 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bunkie <1>
  • Evergreen
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
  • Cheneyville
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Loyd
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Loyd is located in Rapides Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loyd
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Haas
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Haas is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haas
    • Red Fish
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Red Fish is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Fish
    • Holloway
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Holloway is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holloway

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

Newspapers Published in Belleville ...

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 30 newspapers that have been published in the area around Belleville.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Belleville, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Belleville.

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 Belleville:

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>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 Belleville, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Belleville) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.