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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 Brownlee (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 Brownlee. 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 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.

Brownlee is located in Bossier 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 Bossier Parish: Lafayette (AR), Miller (AR), Bienville, Caddo, Red River & Webster.

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

  • Bossier Parish     (The home parish of Brownlee)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brownlee, with the one closest to Brownlee listed first.
    • Parkland Village
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Parkland Village is located in Bossier Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkland Village
    • Bossier City
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Red Chute
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Red Chute is located in Bossier Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Chute
    • Bodcau
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Bodcau is located in Bossier Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bodcau
    • Espanita Village
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Espanita Village is located in Bossier Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Espanita Village
    • Benton
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Eastwood
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Eastwood is located in Bossier Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastwood
    • Fillmore
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Fillmore is located in Bossier Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fillmore
    • Princeton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Haughton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Alden Bridge
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Alden Bridge is located in Bossier Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alden Bridge
    • Bellevue
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Bellevue is located in Bossier Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellevue
    • Elm Grove
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
  • Bienville Parish
    • Armistead
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Armistead is located in Bienville Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armistead
  • Caddo Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brownlee, with the one closest to Brownlee listed first.
    • Shreveport
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Normandy Village
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Normandy Village is located in Caddo Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Normandy Village
    • Blanchard
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Chateau Village
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Chateau Village is located in Caddo Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chateau Village
    • Longwood Village
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Longwood Village is located in Caddo Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longwood Village
    • Western Hills Village
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Silver Pine Village
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Silver Pine Village is located in Caddo Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Pine Village
    • Belcher
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Ellerbe Woods
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Ellerbe Woods is located in Caddo Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellerbe Woods
    • Edgewood Village
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Edgewood Village is located in Caddo Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgewood Village
    • Reisor
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Reisor is located in Caddo Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reisor
    • South Towne Heights
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • South Towne Heights is located in Caddo Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Towne Heights
    • Summer Grove
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Summer Grove is located in Caddo Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summer Grove
  • De Soto Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brownlee, with the one closest to Brownlee listed first.
    • Stonewall
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Frierson
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Gloster
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Keachi
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Keachi is located in De Soto Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keachi
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 300 people
  • Webster Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brownlee, with the one closest to Brownlee listed first.
    • Doyline
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Dixie Inn
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Dixie Inn is located in Webster Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixie Inn
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 266 people
    • Yellow Pine
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Yellow Pine is located in Webster Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Pine
    • Cotton Valley
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Buckhorn ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Buckhorn is located in Webster Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckhorn
    • Minden
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Sibley
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Heflin
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Sarepta
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Dubberly
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
  • Harrison County (TX)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brownlee, with the one closest to Brownlee listed first.
    • Waskom
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Waskom is located in Harrison County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waskom
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,150 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Waskom <1>
    • Jonesville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Uncertain
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Karnack
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Scottsville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Elysian Fields
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Baldwin
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Baldwin is located in Harrison County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baldwin
  • Panola County (TX)
    • Panola
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Brownlee ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Brownlee.

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

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

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

  • Mt. Zion Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Oakland Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Light Hill Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Hebrew Rest Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Round Grove Memorial Gardens
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Hebrew Rest Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Joseph Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Star Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Hillcrest Memorial Park
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Fellowship Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Forest Park East Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Park East Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Forest Park East Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Shreveport.
    • The Forest Park East Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Forest Park Cemetery East
    • Forest Park Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #67544 <2>
  • Continue List   (182 more) ...
    • Old Red River Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Jewella Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Pilkinson Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Brownlee had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Vanceville
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Vanceville is located in Bossier Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vanceville
  • Bossier City
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Shreveport
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Bodcau
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Bodcau is located in Bossier Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bodcau
  • Jewella ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Jewella is located in Caddo Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jewella
  • Benton
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Blanchard
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Curtis
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Curtis is located in Bossier Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curtis
  • La Rosen
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • La Rosen is located in Caddo Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Rosen
  • Midway
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Midway is located in Bossier Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
  • Flournoy
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Reisor
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Reisor is located in Caddo Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reisor
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Haughton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Bellevue
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Bellevue is located in Bossier Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellevue
    • Alden Bridge
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Alden Bridge is located in Bossier Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alden Bridge

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

Newspapers Published in Brownlee ...

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 74 newspapers that have been published in the area around Brownlee.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Brownlee, there are papers which were published within 8 miles [12.9 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Brownlee.

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 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 Brownlee:

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