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 Bolivar (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 Bolivar. 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 northwest corner of their home parish. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals 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/counties 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/counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.
If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.
Bolivar is located in Tangipahoa 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 Tangipahoa Parish: Livingston, Saint Helena, Saint John the Baptist, Saint Tammany, Washington, Amite (MS) & Pike (MS).
Below are the parishes/counties that are near Bolivar. For each of these parishes/counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Bolivar:
- Tangipahoa Parish (The home parish of Bolivar)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bolivar, with the one closest to Bolivar listed first.
- Wilmer
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Wilmer is located in Tangipahoa Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmer
- Fluker
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Tangipahoa
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Kentwood
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Roseland
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Henry City ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Henry City is located in Tangipahoa Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henry City
- Amite City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Husser
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Loranger
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Independence
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Tickfaw
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Genessee
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Genessee is located in Tangipahoa Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Genessee
- Natalbany
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- East Feliciana Parish
- Troy ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Troy is located in East Feliciana Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Troy
- Livingston Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Bolivar, with the one closest to Bolivar listed first.
- Georgeville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Georgeville is located in Livingston Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georgeville
- Starns
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Starns is located in Livingston Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Starns
- Albany
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Holden
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Helena Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Bolivar, with the one closest to Bolivar listed first.
- Greensburg
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Montpelier
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Montpelier is located in Saint Helena Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montpelier
- Population from the 2020 Census: 239 people
- Pine Grove
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Chipola
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Chipola is located in Saint Helena Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chipola
- Coleman Town
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Coleman Town is located in Saint Helena Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coleman Town
- Grangeville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Grangeville is located in Saint Helena Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grangeville
- Saint Tammany Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Bolivar, with the one closest to Bolivar listed first.
- Folsom
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Goodbee
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Goodbee is located in Saint Tammany Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodbee
- Saint Benedict
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Washington Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Bolivar, with the one closest to Bolivar listed first.
- Sunny Hill
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Sunny Hill is located in Washington Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunny Hill
- Stoney Point
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Stoney Point is located in Washington Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoney Point
- Mount Hermon
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Franklinton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Enon
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Enon is located in Washington Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enon
- Pine
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Pine is located in Washington Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine
- Popeville ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Popeville is located in Washington Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Popeville
- Amite County (MS)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bolivar, with the one closest to Bolivar listed first.
- Gillsburg
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Gillsburg is located in Amite County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gillsburg
- Huron
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Huron is located in Amite County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huron
- Glading
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Glading is located in Amite County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glading
- McElveen
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- McElveen is located in Amite County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McElveen
- Thompson
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Thompson is located in Amite County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompson
- Pike County (MS)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bolivar, with the one closest to Bolivar listed first.
- Osyka
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Smithburg
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Smithburg is located in Pike County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smithburg
- Chatawa
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Chatawa is located in Pike County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatawa
- Magnolia
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Bacots
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Bacots is located in Pike County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bacots
- Holmesville
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Holmesville is located in Pike County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holmesville
- Bear Town
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Bear Town is located in Pike County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Town
- McComb
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Summit
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Topisaw
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Topisaw is located in Pike County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Topisaw
- Walthall County (MS)
- Tylertown
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Bolivar, see our Parish-by-Parish Page for Bolivar.
Cemeteries Near Bolivar ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bolivar.
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 Bolivar - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Bolivar covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Bolivar, with the one closest to Bolivar listed first.
- Varnado Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Dyson Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Pierce Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Gill Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Lebo Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Bankston Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Silver Creek Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Booty Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- McDaniel Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Hyde Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Bradley Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Dees Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Continue List (794 more) ...
- Parkers Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Walker Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- McDaniel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
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 Bolivar in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Bolivar.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Bolivar, with the one closest to Bolivar listed first.
- Bailey
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Bailey is located in Tangipahoa Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bailey
- Sunny Hill
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Sunny Hill is located in Washington Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunny Hill
- Tangipahoa
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Mount Hermon
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Kentwood
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Arcola
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Arcola is located in Tangipahoa Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcola
- Roseland
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Osyka
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Amite City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Smithburg
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Smithburg is located in Pike County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smithburg
- Chatawa
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Chatawa is located in Pike County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatawa
- Franklinton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Greensburg
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Independence
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Gillsburg
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Gillsburg is located in Amite County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gillsburg
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Bolivar. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bolivar.
Newspapers Published in Bolivar ...
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 62 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bolivar.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bolivar, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bolivar.
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 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 Bolivar:
- Websites specific to Louisiana
- Pages specific to Tangipahoa Parish
- Genealogy information for nearby parishes
- East Feliciana Parish
- Livingston Parish
- Saint Helena Parish
- Saint Tammany Parish
- Washington Parish
- Amite County
- Pike County
- Walthall 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 Bolivar, 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- Bolivar) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |