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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 Bivens (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 Bivens. 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 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/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 north 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.

Bivens is located in Beauregard 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 Beauregard Parish: Allen, Calcasieu, Jefferson Davis, Vernon & Newton (TX).

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

  • Beauregard Parish     (The home parish of Bivens)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bivens, with the one closest to Bivens listed first.
    • Merryville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Singer
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Singer have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Singer
      • Singer is located in Beauregard Parish
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Singer <1>
    • Newlin
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Newlin have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newlin
      • Newlin is located in Beauregard Parish
    • Helme
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Helme have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helme
      • Helme is located in Beauregard Parish
    • Longville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Longville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longville
      • Longville is located in Beauregard Parish
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Longville <1>
    • Ragley
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ragley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ragley
      • Ragley is located in Beauregard Parish
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ragley <1>
    • DeRidder
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for DeRidder have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for DeRidder
      • DeRidder is located in Beauregard Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,521 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for DeRidder <1>
    • Ludington
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ludington have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ludington
      • Ludington is located in Beauregard Parish
    • Ikes
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ikes have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ikes
      • Ikes is located in Beauregard Parish
  • Calcasieu Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bivens, with the one closest to Bivens listed first.
    • DeQuincy
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for DeQuincy have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for DeQuincy
      • DeQuincy is located in Calcasieu Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,009 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for DeQuincy <1>
    • Starks
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Edgerly
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgerly
      • Edgerly is located in Calcasieu Parish
    • Vinton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vinton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vinton
      • Vinton is located in Calcasieu Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,211 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vinton <1>
    • Sulphur
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Vernon Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bivens, with the one closest to Bivens listed first.
    • Evans
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Evans have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evans
      • Evans is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Evans <1>
    • Rosepine
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rosepine have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosepine
      • Rosepine is located in Vernon Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,540 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rosepine <1>
    • Pinewood
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pinewood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinewood
      • Pinewood is located in Vernon Parish
  • Jasper County (TX)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bivens, with the one closest to Bivens listed first.
    • Kirbyville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kirbyville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirbyville
      • Kirbyville is located in Jasper County (TX)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,032 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kirbyville <1>
    • Call Junction
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Call Junction
      • Call Junction is located in Jasper County (TX)
    • Buna
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buna have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buna
      • Buna is located in Jasper County (TX)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Buna <1>
    • Jasper
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jasper
      • Jasper is located in Jasper County (TX)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,597 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jasper <1>
  • Newton County (TX)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bivens, with the one closest to Bivens listed first.
    • Bon Wier
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bon Wier have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bon Wier
      • Bon Wier is located in Newton County (TX)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bon Wier <1>
    • Hughes ‑ Historic
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hughes. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hughes
      • Hughes is located in Newton County (TX)
    • Call
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Call have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Call
      • Call is located in Newton County (TX)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Call <1>
    • Newton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Newton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newton
      • Newton is located in Newton County (TX)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,329 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Newton <1>
    • Shanklerville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shanklerville
      • Shanklerville is located in Newton County (TX)
    • Deweyville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Burkeville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Wiergate
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wiergate have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wiergate
      • Wiergate is located in Newton County (TX)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wiergate <1>

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

Newspapers Published in Bivens ...

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 25 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bivens.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bivens, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bivens.

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 helpful 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 Bivens:

Cemeteries Near Bivens ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bivens.

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

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

  • Franks Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Franks Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Franks Cemetery
  • Meadow Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Meadow Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Meadow Cemetery
  • Burks Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Burks Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Burks Cemetery
  • Whitman Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Whitman Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Whitman Cemetery
  • Belgrade Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Belgrade Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Belgrade Cemetery
  • Stark Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Stark Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Stark Cemetery
  • Inman Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Inman Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Inman Cemetery
  • Spikes Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Spikes Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Spikes Cemetery
  • Hughes Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hughes Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hughes Cemetery
  • Hughes Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hughes Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hughes Cemetery
  • Hyatt Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hyatt Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hyatt Cemetery
  • Merryville Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (67 more) ...
    • Davis Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Davis Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Davis Cemetery
    • Herrin Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Herrin Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Herrin Cemetery
    • Good Hope Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Good Hope Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Good Hope 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.<6>

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

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

  • Belgrade
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Belgrade have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belgrade
    • Belgrade is located in Newton County (TX)
  • Bleakwood
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bleakwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bleakwood
    • Bleakwood is located in Newton County (TX)
  • Newton
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Newton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newton
    • Newton is located in Newton County (TX)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,329 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Newton <1>
  • Erin
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Erin have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erin
    • Erin is located in Jasper County (TX)
  • Burkeville
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
  • Magnolia Springs
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Magnolia Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia Springs
    • Magnolia Springs is located in Jasper County (TX)
  • Edgerly
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgerly
    • Edgerly is located in Calcasieu Parish
  • Farrsville
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Farrsville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farrsville
    • Farrsville is located in Newton County (TX)
  • Vinton
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vinton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vinton
    • Vinton is located in Calcasieu Parish
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,211 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vinton <1>

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

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

The official website for State of Louisiana: louisiana.gov/

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 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.
<3>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Bivens) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Bivens. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 30.6299, Longitude: -93.6063       In this case, the coordinates for Bivens have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>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.
<6>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 Bivens, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024