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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 Boley (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 Boley. 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 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.

Boley is located in Grant 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 Grant Parish: La Salle, Natchitoches, Rapides & Winn.

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

  • Grant Parish     (The home parish of Boley)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Boley, with the one closest to Boley listed first.
    • Montgomery
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Colfax
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Black Creek ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Black Creek is located in Grant Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Creek
    • Fairmount
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Fairmount is located in Grant Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmount
    • Dry Prong
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Bentley
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Stay
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Stay is located in Grant Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stay
    • Antonia
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Antonia is located in Grant Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antonia
    • Georgetown
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Pollock
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Creola
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • 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
  • Natchitoches Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Boley, with the one closest to Boley listed first.
    • Melrose
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Natchez
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Cloutierville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Derry
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Derry is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derry
    • Clarence
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Natchitoches
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Flora
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Marco
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Marco is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marco
    • Forest
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Forest is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest
    • Caspari ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Caspari is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caspari
    • Gorum
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Provencal
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
  • Rapides Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Boley, with the one closest to Boley listed first.
    • Lena
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Flatwoods
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Rock
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Rock is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock
    • Mora
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Zimmerman
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Zimmerman is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zimmerman
    • Boyce
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Hot Wells
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Hot Wells is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hot Wells
    • Hemphill
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Hemphill is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hemphill
  • Red River Parish
    • Lake End
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Lake End is located in Red River Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake End
  • Sabine Parish
    • Corleyville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Corleyville is located in Sabine Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corleyville
  • Vernon Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Boley, with the one closest to Boley listed first.
    • Alco
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Alco is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alco
    • Kurthwood
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Simpson
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Winn Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Boley, with the one closest to Boley listed first.
    • Saint Maurice
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Couley
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Couley is located in Winn Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Couley
    • Atlanta
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Whitford
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Whitford is located in Winn Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitford
    • Calvin
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Coldwater
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Coldwater is located in Winn Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coldwater
    • Winnfield
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Bethlehem
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Bethlehem is located in Winn Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethlehem
    • Joyce
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Pine Ridge
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Pine Ridge is located in Winn Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Ridge
    • Dodson
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Hudson
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Hudson is located in Winn Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hudson

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

Cemeteries Near Boley ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Boley.

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

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

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

  • Pleasant Hill Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Creola Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Union Grove Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Kimbrell Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Mars Hill Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Verda Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verda Cemetery
    • The Verda Cemetery has also been known as:
    • First Baptist Church of Verda Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2222776 <2>
  • Dartigo Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Saline Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Lee Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Camel Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Shady Grove Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • St. Simon Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (149 more) ...
    • Pace Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Iatt Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Tucker 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.<4>

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

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

  • Montgomery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Mount Zion
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Mount Zion is located in Winn Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
  • Bermuda
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Bermuda is located in Natchitoches Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bermuda
  • Saint Maurice
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Melrose
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Cypress
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Cypress is located in Natchitoches Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cypress
  • Cloutierville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Derry
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Derry is located in Natchitoches Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derry
  • Trichell
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Trichell is located in Natchitoches Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trichell
  • Iatt
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Iatt is located in Grant Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iatt
  • Couley
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Couley is located in Winn Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Couley
  • Clarence
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Atlanta
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Natchitoches
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Chopin
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Chopin is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chopin

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

Newspapers Published in Boley ...

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 46 newspapers that have been published in the area around Boley.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Boley, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Boley.

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 professional and volunteer 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 Boley:

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Boley) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Boley, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.