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 Big Woods (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 Big Woods. 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 southeast corner of their home parish. During their lives, most doctors 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/counties 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/counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.
If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.
Big Woods is located in Calcasieu 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 Calcasieu Parish: Beauregard, Cameron, Jefferson Davis, Newton (TX) & Orange (TX).
Below are the parishes/counties that are near Big Woods. For each of these parishes/counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Big Woods:
- Calcasieu Parish (The home parish of Big Woods)
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Woods, with the one closest to Big Woods listed first.
- Edgerly
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Edgerly is located in Calcasieu Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgerly
- Vinton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Starks
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Sulphur
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Dequincy
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Carlyss
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Carlyss is located in Calcasieu Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlyss
- Westlake
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Prien
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Prien is located in Calcasieu Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prien
- Ararat
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Ararat is located in Calcasieu Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ararat
- Lake Charles
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Moss Bluff
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Greinwich Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Greinwich Village is located in Calcasieu Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greinwich Village
- Beauregard Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Woods, with the one closest to Big Woods listed first.
- Helme
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Helme is located in Beauregard Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helme
- Ragley
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Singer
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Newlin
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Newlin is located in Beauregard Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newlin
- Fayette ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Fayette is located in Beauregard Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayette
- Longville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Cameron Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Woods, with the one closest to Big Woods listed first.
- Hackberry
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Grand Lake
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Grand Lake is located in Cameron Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Lake
- Jasper County (TX)
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Woods, with the one closest to Big Woods listed first.
- Bunker Hill
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Bunker Hill is located in Jasper County (TX)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunker Hill
- Buna
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Call Junction
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Call Junction is located in Jasper County (TX)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Call Junction
- Evadale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Newton County (TX)
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Woods, with the one closest to Big Woods listed first.
- Deweyville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Call
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Orange County (TX)
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Woods, with the one closest to Big Woods listed first.
- Orange
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Pinehurst
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Pinehurst is located in Orange County (TX)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinehurst
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,959 people
- Lemonville ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Lemonville is located in Orange County (TX)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lemonville
- West Orange
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Mauriceville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Texla
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Texla is located in Orange County (TX)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Texla
- Orangefield
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Bridge City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Terry
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Terry is located in Orange County (TX)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terry
- Vidor
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Vidor is located in Orange County (TX)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vidor
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,310 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vidor <1>
- Pine Forest
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Pine Forest is located in Orange County (TX)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Forest
- Population from the 2020 Census: 516 people
- Pine Grove
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Pine Grove is located in Orange County (TX)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Grove
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Big Woods, see our Parish-by-Parish Page for Big Woods.
Cemeteries Near Big Woods ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Big Woods.
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 Big Woods - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Big Woods covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Big Woods, with the one closest to Big Woods listed first.
- Benevolent Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Big Woods Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- St. Mary Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Lee Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Granger Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Miller Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Doyle Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Stanley Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Reed Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Archie Clark Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Archie Clark Cemetery
- The Archie Clark Cemetery has also been known as:
- Clark Cemetery
- Carter Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Fountain Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (79 more) ...
- Comier Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Babe Clark Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Babe Clark Cemetery
- The Babe Clark Cemetery has also been known as:
- Clark Cemetery
- Smith Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 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 Big Woods in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Big Woods.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Big Woods, with the one closest to Big Woods listed first.
- Edgerly
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Edgerly is located in Calcasieu Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgerly
- Vinton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Echo
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Echo is located in Orange County (TX)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo
- Orange
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Westlake
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Tulane
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Tulane is located in Orange County (TX)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tulane
- Lake Charles
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Hackberry
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Grand Lake
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Grand Lake is located in Cameron Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Lake
- Terry
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Terry is located in Orange County (TX)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terry
- Chloe
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Chloe is located in Calcasieu Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chloe
- Belgrade
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Belgrade is located in Newton County (TX)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belgrade
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Big Woods. See our List of 1890's Communities around Big Woods.
Newspapers Published in Big Woods ...
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 34 newspapers that have been published in the area around Big Woods.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Big Woods, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Big Woods.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we 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 Big Woods:
- Websites specific to Louisiana
- Pages specific to Calcasieu Parish
- Genealogy information for nearby parishes
- Beauregard Parish
- Cameron Parish
- Jasper County
- Newton County
- Orange County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Louisiana
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 Big Woods, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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- Big Woods) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |