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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 Couley (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 Couley. 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 southwest corner of their home parish. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next parish to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the parish to the south.

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 west contained birth and death records; the parish to the south 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.

Couley is located in Winn 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 Winn Parish: Bienville, Caldwell, Grant, Jackson, La Salle & Natchitoches.

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

  • Winn Parish     (The home parish of Couley)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Couley, with the one closest to Couley listed first.
    • Whitford
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Whitford is located in Winn Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitford
    • Coldwater
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Coldwater is located in Winn Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coldwater
    • Atlanta
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Saint Maurice
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Calvin
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Bethlehem
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Bethlehem is located in Winn Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethlehem
    • Winnfield
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Joyce
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Pine Ridge
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Pine Ridge is located in Winn Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Ridge
    • Dodson
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Gansville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Gansville is located in Winn Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gansville
    • Hudson
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Hudson is located in Winn Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hudson
    • Sikes
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Bienville Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Couley, with the one closest to Couley listed first.
    • Saline
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Burkplace
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Burkplace is located in Bienville Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burkplace
    • Lucky
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Lucky is located in Bienville Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucky
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 252 people
    • English
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • English is located in Bienville Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for English
    • Alberta
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Alberta is located in Bienville Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alberta
  • Grant Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Couley, with the one closest to Couley listed first.
    • Montgomery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Black Creek ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Black Creek is located in Grant Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Creek
    • Colfax
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Dry Prong
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Georgetown
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  • Jackson Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Couley, with the one closest to Couley listed first.
    • Jonesboro
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Hodge
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • East Hodge
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • East Hodge is located in Jackson Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Hodge
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 270 people
    • North Hodge
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • North Hodge is located in Jackson Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Hodge
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 372 people
    • Weston
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Weston is located in Jackson Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weston
  • Natchitoches Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Couley, with the one closest to Couley listed first.
    • Clarence
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Caspari ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Caspari is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caspari
    • Goldonna
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Natchitoches
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Campti
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • 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>
    • Chestnut
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Chestnut is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut
    • Natchez
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Forest
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Forest is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest
    • Melrose
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Grappes Bluff
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Grappes Bluff is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grappes Bluff
    • Powhatan
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Cloutierville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Flora
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Rapides Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Couley, with the one closest to Couley listed first.
    • Lena
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Rock
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Rock is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock
  • Red River Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Couley, with the one closest to Couley listed first.
    • Lake End
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Lake End is located in Red River Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake End
    • Martin
      (26 miles [41.8 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
    • Hanna
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Hanna is located in Red River Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanna
    • Coushatta
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Edgefield
      (30 miles [48.3 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

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

Cemeteries Near Couley ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Couley.

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

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

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

  • Saline Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Franks Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Franks Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Old Harmony Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Old Harmony Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Pace Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Kimbrell Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Blake Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Blake Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Tucker Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Tucker Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Swindelly Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (137 more) ...
    • McDade Memorial Park
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Mars Hill Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Teagle Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 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.<2>

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

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

  • Trichell
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Trichell is located in Natchitoches Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trichell
  • Saint Maurice
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Atlanta
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Coldwater
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Coldwater is located in Winn Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coldwater
  • Clarence
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Mount Zion
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Mount Zion is located in Winn Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
  • Montgomery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • Natchitoches
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Winnfield
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Campti
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • 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>
  • Bermuda
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Bermuda is located in Natchitoches Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bermuda
  • Iatt
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Iatt is located in Grant Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iatt
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Chestnut
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Chestnut is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut
    • Melrose
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Tunica ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Tunica is located in Winn Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunica

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

Newspapers Published in Couley ...

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 39 newspapers that have been published in the area around Couley.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Couley, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Couley.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 Couley:

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 Couley, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Couley) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.