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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 Clarence (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 Clarence. 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 ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring parishes.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the northeast corner of their home parish. During their lives, most hospitals 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 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, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Clarence is located in Natchitoches 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 Natchitoches Parish: Bienville, De Soto, Grant, Rapides, Red River, Sabine, Vernon & Winn.

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

  • Natchitoches Parish     (The home parish of Clarence)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clarence, with the one closest to Clarence listed first.
    • Caspari ‑ Historic
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Caspari is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caspari
    • Natchitoches
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Forest
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Forest is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest
    • Campti
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Campti is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campti
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,033 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Campti <1>
    • Natchez
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Powhatan
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Grappes Bluff
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Grappes Bluff is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grappes Bluff
    • Flora
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Goldonna
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Melrose
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Provencal
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Victoria
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Victoria is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Victoria
  • Bienville Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clarence, with the one closest to Clarence listed first.
    • Saline
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Burkplace
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Burkplace is located in Bienville Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burkplace
    • Alberta
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Alberta is located in Bienville Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alberta
    • Lucky
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Lucky is located in Bienville Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucky
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 252 people
    • Castor
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • De Soto Parish
    • Butler ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Butler is located in De Soto Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butler
  • Grant Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clarence, with the one closest to Clarence listed first.
    • Montgomery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Black Creek ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Black Creek is located in Grant Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Creek
    • Colfax
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Rapides Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clarence, with the one closest to Clarence listed first.
    • Lena
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Flatwoods
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Red River Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clarence, with the one closest to Clarence listed first.
    • Lake End
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Lake End is located in Red River Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake End
    • Hanna
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Hanna is located in Red River Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanna
    • Martin
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Martin is located in Red River Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 543 people
    • Coushatta
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Edgefield
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Edgefield is located in Red River Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgefield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 185 people
    • Carroll
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Carroll is located in Red River Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carroll
    • Halfway
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Halfway is located in Red River Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halfway
    • Hall Summit
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Harmon
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Sabine Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clarence, with the one closest to Clarence listed first.
    • Pleasant Hill
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Corleyville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Corleyville is located in Sabine Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corleyville
    • Belmont
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Winn Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clarence, with the one closest to Clarence listed first.
    • Saint Maurice
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Couley
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Couley is located in Winn Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Couley
    • Coldwater
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Coldwater is located in Winn Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coldwater
    • Atlanta
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Whitford
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Whitford is located in Winn Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitford
    • Calvin
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Bethlehem
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Bethlehem is located in Winn Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethlehem
    • Pine Ridge
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Pine Ridge is located in Winn Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Ridge
    • Winnfield
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Joyce
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Gansville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Gansville is located in Winn Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gansville
    • Dodson
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Clarence ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Clarence.

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

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

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

  • Tucker Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Tucker Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • De Blieux Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Smith Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Smith Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Memory Lawn Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Pace Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Russell Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Russell Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Fern Park Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Catholic Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • American Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (134 more) ...
    • Calvary Baptist Church Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Lee Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Saline Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)

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.<2>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Clarence had a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Clarence had a population of 479 people.

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

  • Trichell
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Trichell is located in Natchitoches Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trichell
  • Natchitoches
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Saint Maurice
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Campti
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Campti is located in Natchitoches Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campti
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,033 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Campti <1>
  • Couley
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Couley is located in Winn Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Couley
  • Bermuda
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Bermuda is located in Natchitoches Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bermuda
  • Mount Zion
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Mount Zion is located in Winn Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
  • Grappes Bluff
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Grappes Bluff is located in Natchitoches Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grappes Bluff
  • Montgomery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Timon
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Timon is located in Natchitoches Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timon
  • Cypress
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Cypress is located in Natchitoches Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cypress
  • Coldwater
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Coldwater is located in Winn Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coldwater
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Victoria
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Victoria is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Victoria
    • Provencal
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Melrose
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)

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

Newspapers Published in Clarence ...

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 43 newspapers that have been published in the area around Clarence.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Clarence, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Clarence.

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 Clarence:

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>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 Clarence, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Clarence) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.