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 Brandon (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 Brandon. 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 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 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.
Brandon is located in West Feliciana 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 West Feliciana Parish: Avoyelles, Concordia, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Pointe Coupee, West Baton Rouge & Wilkinson (MS).
Below are the parishes/counties that are near Brandon. For each of these parishes/counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Brandon:
- West Feliciana Parish (The home parish of Brandon)
- The following are listed by their distance from Brandon, with the one closest to Brandon listed first.
- Tunica
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Weyanoke
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Angola
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Converse ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Converse is located in West Feliciana Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Converse
- Bains
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Bains is located in West Feliciana Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bains
- Wakefield
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Saint Francisville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Rogillioville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Rogillioville is located in West Feliciana Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogillioville
- Avoyelles Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Brandon, with the one closest to Brandon listed first.
- Odenburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Odenburg is located in Avoyelles Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Odenburg
- Simmesport
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Dupont
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Dupont is located in Avoyelles Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dupont
- Hamburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Bordelonville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Plaucheville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Moreauville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Hickory
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Hickory is located in Avoyelles Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory
- Concordia Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Brandon, with the one closest to Brandon listed first.
- Bougere
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Bougere is located in Concordia Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bougere
- Fairview
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Fairview is located in Concordia Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- East Baton Rouge Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Brandon, with the one closest to Brandon listed first.
- Port Hudson
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Port Hudson is located in East Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Hudson
- Zachary
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Zachary is located in East Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zachary
- Population from the 2020 Census: 18,417 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Zachary <1>
- Baker
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Baker is located in East Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baker
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,999 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Baker <1>
- Tristian Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Tristian Village is located in East Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tristian Village
- East Feliciana Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Brandon, with the one closest to Brandon listed first.
- Jackson
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Bells Store ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Bells Store is located in East Feliciana Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bells Store
- Lindsay
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Lindsay is located in East Feliciana Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lindsay
- Wilson
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Ethel
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Norwood
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Slaughter
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Clinton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Iberville Parish
- Maringouin
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Pointe Coupee Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Brandon, with the one closest to Brandon listed first.
- Smithland
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Smithland is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smithland
- Williamsport
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Williamsport is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsport
- Batchelor
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Innis
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Lettsworth
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Morganza
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- New Roads
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Patin
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Patin is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patin
- Ventress
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Legonier
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Legonier is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Legonier
- Dupont
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Ravenswood
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Ravenswood is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ravenswood
- Jarreau
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Saint Landry Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Brandon, with the one closest to Brandon listed first.
- Elba
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Elba is located in Saint Landry Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elba
- Melville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Half Moon
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Half Moon is located in Saint Landry Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Half Moon
- Swayze Lake
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Swayze Lake is located in Saint Landry Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swayze Lake
- Palmetto
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Bayou Jack
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Bayou Jack is located in Saint Landry Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Jack
- Immaculata
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Immaculata is located in Saint Landry Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Immaculata
- Krotz Springs
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Lebeau
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Rosa
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Rosa is located in Saint Landry Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosa
- West Baton Rouge Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Brandon, with the one closest to Brandon listed first.
- Arbroth
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Arbroth is located in West Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arbroth
- Erwinville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Devalls
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Devalls is located in West Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Devalls
- Carey
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Carey is located in West Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carey
- Wilkinson County (MS)
- The following are listed by their distance from Brandon, with the one closest to Brandon listed first.
- Turnbull
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Turnbull is located in Wilkinson County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turnbull
- Woodville
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Artonish
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Artonish is located in Wilkinson County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Artonish
- Whitaker
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Whitaker is located in Wilkinson County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitaker
- Wilkinson
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Wilkinson is located in Wilkinson County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilkinson
- Centreville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Brandon, see our Parish-by-Parish Page for Brandon.
Cemeteries Near Brandon ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Brandon.
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 Brandon - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Brandon covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Brandon, with the one closest to Brandon listed first.
- St. John Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Greenwood Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Comely Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Rogillio Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Pt. Lookout Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Barrow Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Clifford Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Friendship Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Mt. Olive Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Little Rock Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Linwood Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Continue List (255 more) ...
- Barrow Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Evans Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- St. Stephens Episcopal Church Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
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 Brandon in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Brandon.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Brandon, with the one closest to Brandon listed first.
- Rowes Landing
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Rowes Landing is located in West Feliciana Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowes Landing
- Angola
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Pinckneyville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Pinckneyville is located in Wilkinson County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinckneyville
- Smithland
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Smithland is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smithland
- Raccourci ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Raccourci is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raccourci
- Converse ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Converse is located in West Feliciana Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Converse
- Red River Landing
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Red River Landing is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red River Landing
- Laurel Hill
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Laurel Hill is located in West Feliciana Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Hill
- Pointe Coupee
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Pointe Coupee is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pointe Coupee
- Fort Adams
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Fort Adams is located in Wilkinson County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Adams
- Viva
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Viva is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Viva
- Merrick
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Merrick is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrick
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- New Roads
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Turnbull
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Turnbull is located in Wilkinson County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turnbull
- Ventress
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Brandon. See our List of 1890's Communities around Brandon.
Newspapers Published in Brandon ...
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 58 newspapers that have been published in the area around Brandon.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Brandon, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Brandon.
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 Brandon:
- Websites specific to Louisiana
- Pages specific to West Feliciana Parish
- Genealogy information for nearby parishes
- Avoyelles Parish
- Concordia Parish
- East Baton Rouge Parish
- East Feliciana Parish
- Iberville Parish
- Pointe Coupee Parish
- Saint Landry Parish
- West Baton Rouge Parish
- Wilkinson 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 Brandon, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Brandon) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |