RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Louisiana >> Vernon Parish >> Burnstown >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Burnstown (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 Burnstown. 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.

Burnstown is located in Vernon 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 Vernon Parish: Allen, Beauregard, Natchitoches, Rapides, Sabine & Newton (TX).

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

  • Vernon Parish     (The home parish of Burnstown)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Burnstown, with the one closest to Burnstown listed first.
    • Simpson
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Lacamp
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Hicks
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Hicks is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicks
    • Leander
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Leander is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leander
    • Walnut Hill
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Walnut Hill is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Hill
    • Slagle
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Alco
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Alco is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alco
    • Kurthwood
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Fort Polk North
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Fort Polk North is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Polk North
    • Fullerton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Leesville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Cravens
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Cravens is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cravens
  • Allen Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Burnstown, with the one closest to Burnstown listed first.
    • Elizabeth
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Reids
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Reids is located in Allen Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reids
  • Beauregard Parish
  • Grant Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Burnstown, with the one closest to Burnstown listed first.
    • Fairmount
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Fairmount is located in Grant Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmount
    • Colfax
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Montgomery
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Creola
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • 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
    • Stay
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Stay is located in Grant Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stay
    • Bentley
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Natchitoches Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Burnstown, with the one closest to Burnstown listed first.
    • Gorum
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Cloutierville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Derry
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Derry is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derry
    • Marco
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Marco is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marco
    • Melrose
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Bellwood
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Bellwood is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellwood
    • Flora
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Natchez
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Vowells Mill
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Vowells Mill is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vowells Mill
    • Provencal
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Rapides Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Burnstown, with the one closest to Burnstown listed first.
    • Mora
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Sieper
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Hemphill
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Hemphill is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hemphill
    • Flatwoods
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Hot Wells
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Hot Wells is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hot Wells
    • Otis
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Gardner
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Hineston
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Lena
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Rock
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Rock is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock
    • Zimmerman
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Zimmerman is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zimmerman
    • Boyce
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Sabine Parish
    • Corleyville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Corleyville is located in Sabine Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corleyville

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

Cemeteries Near Burnstown ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Burnstown.

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

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

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

  • Blackwell Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Pine Island Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Noel Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Schorn Brook Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Comrade Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Mayo Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Scott Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Laurel Hill Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Welcome Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Pisgah Church Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Ballview Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (196 more) ...
    • Flatwoods Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Robinson Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Ebenezer Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)

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 Burnstown in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Burnstown.

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

  • Simpson
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Mora
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Hicks
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Hicks is located in Vernon Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicks
  • Hemphill
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Hemphill is located in Rapides Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hemphill
  • Walnut Hill
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Walnut Hill is located in Vernon Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Hill
  • Gorum
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Cora
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Cora is located in Vernon Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cora
  • Milford ‑ Historic
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Milford is located in Rapides Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milford
  • Hineston
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Crane
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Crane is located in Rapides Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crane
  • Lena
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Chopin
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Chopin is located in Natchitoches Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chopin
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Kisatchie
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Kisatchie is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kisatchie
    • Boyce
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Derry
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Derry is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derry

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

Newspapers Published in Burnstown ...

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 13 newspapers that have been published in the area around Burnstown.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Burnstown, 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 Burnstown.

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 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 Burnstown:

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