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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 Burr Ferry (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 Burr Ferry. 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.

Name Variations for Burr Ferry ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Burr Ferry: Burr Fry. (or less commonly used: Burr Frry.)

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

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 northeast corner of their home parish. During their lives, most doctors were in the next parish to the east. 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 east 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.

Burr Ferry 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 Burr Ferry. For each of these parishes/counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Burr Ferry:

  • Vernon Parish     (The home parish of Burr Ferry)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Burr Ferry, with the one closest to Burr Ferry listed first.
    • Evans
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Savage Fork
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Savage Fork is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Savage Fork
    • Elmwood
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Elmwood is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmwood
    • Billy Goat Hill
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Billy Goat Hill is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Billy Goat Hill
    • New Llano
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Pickering
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Pickering is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pickering
    • Westwood Village
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Westwood Village is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood Village
    • Fertitta Park
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Fertitta Park is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fertitta Park
    • Pinewood
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Pinewood is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinewood
    • Leesville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Anacoco
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Rosepine
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Beauregard Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Burr Ferry, with the one closest to Burr Ferry listed first.
    • Ludington
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Ludington is located in Beauregard Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ludington
    • DeRidder
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Merryville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Ikes
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Ikes is located in Beauregard Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ikes
    • Newlin
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Newlin is located in Beauregard Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newlin
    • Singer
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
  • Sabine Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Burr Ferry, with the one closest to Burr Ferry listed first.
    • Rock ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Rock is located in Sabine Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock
    • Toro
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Toro is located in Sabine Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toro
    • Florien
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Negreet
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Fisher
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • Jasper County (TX)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Burr Ferry, with the one closest to Burr Ferry listed first.
    • Browndell
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Browndell is located in Jasper County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browndell
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 204 people
    • Jasper
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Jasper is located in Jasper County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jasper
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,597 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jasper <1>
    • Sam Rayburn
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Newton County (TX)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Burr Ferry, with the one closest to Burr Ferry listed first.
    • South Toledo Bend
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • South Toledo Bend is located in Newton County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Toledo Bend
    • Toledo
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Toledo is located in Newton County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toledo
    • Burkeville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Wiergate
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Shanklerville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Shanklerville is located in Newton County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shanklerville
    • Newton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • 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>
    • Bon Wier
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Hughes ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Hughes is located in Newton County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hughes
  • Sabine County (TX)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Burr Ferry, with the one closest to Burr Ferry listed first.
    • Fairmount
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Fairmount is located in Sabine County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmount
    • Mason
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Mason is located in Sabine County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason
    • Hemphill
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Brookeland
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Pineland
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Burr Ferry ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Burr Ferry.

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 Burr Ferry - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Burr Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Burr Ferry Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Evans Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evans Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Evans Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located less than 2 miles<2> to the west of Evans.
    • The Evans Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Galilee Baptist Church Cemetery
    • Galilee Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #67468 <3>
  • Stevens Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Scott Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Beechgrove Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Tanner Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Toledo Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Craft Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Simmons Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Oak Grove Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Miller Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (147 more) ...
    • Wilson Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Kay Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • St. Johns Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 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.<4>

While we didn't find Burr Ferry in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Burr Ferry.

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

  • Toledo
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Toledo is located in Newton County (TX)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toledo
  • Caney
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Caney is located in Vernon Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caney
  • Burkeville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Elmwood
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Elmwood is located in Vernon Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmwood
  • Toro
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Toro is located in Sabine Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toro
  • Fairmount
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Fairmount is located in Sabine County (TX)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmount
  • Leesville
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
  • Anacoco
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Farrsville
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Farrsville is located in Newton County (TX)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farrsville
  • Newton
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • 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>
  • Columbus ‑ Historic
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Columbus is located in Sabine Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbus
  • Walnut Hill
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Walnut Hill is located in Vernon Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Hill
  • Continue List   (5 more) ...
    • Belgrade
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Belgrade is located in Newton County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belgrade
    • Hemphill
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Negreet
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)

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

Newspapers Published in Burr Ferry ...

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 28 newspapers that have been published in the area around Burr Ferry.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Burr Ferry, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Burr Ferry.

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 Burr Ferry:

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>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- Burr Ferry) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.
<4>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 Burr Ferry, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.