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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 Bon Ami (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 Bon Ami. 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 southwest corner of their home parish. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next parish to the west. 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 west 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.

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

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

  • Beauregard Parish     (The home parish of Bon Ami)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bon Ami, with the one closest to Bon Ami listed first.
    • DeRidder
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Ludington
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Ludington is located in Beauregard Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ludington
    • Ikes
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Ikes is located in Beauregard Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ikes
    • Newlin
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Newlin is located in Beauregard Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newlin
    • Singer
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Longville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Merryville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Sugartown
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Fayette ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Fayette is located in Beauregard Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayette
    • Dry Creek
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Ragley
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Helme
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Helme is located in Beauregard Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helme
  • Allen Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bon Ami, with the one closest to Bon Ami listed first.
    • Grant
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Cherry Grove
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Cherry Grove is located in Allen Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Grove
    • Tenmile
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Tenmile is located in Allen Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tenmile
    • Mittie
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Reids
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Reids is located in Allen Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reids
    • Reeves
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Marionville ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Marionville is located in Allen Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marionville
    • Elizabeth
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Le Blanc
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Le Blanc is located in Allen Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Le Blanc
  • Calcasieu Parish
    • Dequincy
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
  • Vernon Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bon Ami, with the one closest to Bon Ami listed first.
    • Rosepine
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Pinewood
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Pinewood is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinewood
    • Cole Central
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Cole Central is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cole Central
    • Elmwood
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Elmwood is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmwood
    • Pickering
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Pickering is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pickering
    • Savage Fork
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Savage Fork is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Savage Fork
    • Fort Polk
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Evans
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Cravens
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Cravens is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cravens
    • Billy Goat Hill
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Billy Goat Hill is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Billy Goat Hill
    • Fort Polk North
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Fort Polk North is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Polk North
    • New Llano
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Fertitta Park
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Fertitta Park is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fertitta Park
  • Newton County (TX)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bon Ami, with the one closest to Bon Ami listed first.
    • Hughes ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Hughes is located in Newton County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hughes
    • Bon Wier
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Burkeville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Shanklerville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Shanklerville is located in Newton County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shanklerville
    • Wiergate
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Newton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Newton is located in Newton County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,329 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Newton <1>
    • Toledo
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Toledo is located in Newton County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toledo
    • South Toledo Bend
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • South Toledo Bend is located in Newton County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Toledo Bend

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

Cemeteries Near Bon Ami ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bon Ami.

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 Bon Ami - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Pleasant Hill Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Woodlawn Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Beauregard Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Whitaker Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Bishop Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Cypress Creek Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Old Cypress Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Rosepine Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Cooper Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Newlin Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Hopwell Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Johnson Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (102 more) ...
    • Havens Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Barentine Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Hinson 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 Bon Ami in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Bon Ami.

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

  • Elmwood
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Elmwood is located in Vernon Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmwood
  • Caney
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Caney is located in Vernon Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caney
  • Belgrade
    (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Belgrade is located in Newton County (TX)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belgrade
  • Leesville
    (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
  • Dido
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Dido is located in Vernon Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dido
  • Burkeville
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Newton
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Newton is located in Newton County (TX)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newton
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,329 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Newton <1>
  • Toledo
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Toledo is located in Newton County (TX)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toledo
  • Walnut Hill
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Walnut Hill is located in Vernon Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Hill

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

Newspapers Published in Bon Ami ...

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 12 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bon Ami.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bon Ami, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bon Ami.

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 Bon Ami:

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 Bon Ami, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Bon Ami) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.