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 Dawson Switch (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 Dawson Switch. 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 southeast corner of their home parish. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next parish to the east. 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 east 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.
Dawson Switch is located in Pointe Coupee 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 Pointe Coupee Parish: Avoyelles, Concordia, East Baton Rouge, Iberville, Saint Landry, Saint Martin, West Baton Rouge & West Feliciana.
Below are the parishes that are near Dawson Switch. For each of these parishes, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Dawson Switch:
- Pointe Coupee Parish (The home parish of Dawson Switch)
- The following are listed by their distance from Dawson Switch, with the one closest to Dawson Switch listed first.
- Morganza
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- New Roads
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Dupont
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Ravenswood
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Ravenswood is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ravenswood
- Fordoche
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Patin
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Patin is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patin
- Ventress
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Jarreau
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Oscar
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Batchelor
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Livonia
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Lottie
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Avoyelles Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Dawson Switch, with the one closest to Dawson Switch listed first.
- Odenburg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Odenburg is located in Avoyelles Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Odenburg
- Simmesport
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Dupont
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Dupont is located in Avoyelles Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dupont
- Plaucheville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Hamburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- East Baton Rouge Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Dawson Switch, with the one closest to Dawson Switch listed first.
- Port Hudson
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Port Hudson is located in East Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Hudson
- Zachary
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Zachary is located in East Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zachary
- Population from the 2020 Census: 18,417 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Zachary <1>
- Baker
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Baker is located in East Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baker
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,999 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Baker <1>
- Tristian Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Tristian Village is located in East Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tristian Village
- Beauregard Town
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Beauregard Town is located in East Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beauregard Town
- Brownfields
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Brownfields is located in East Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownfields
- Zion City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Zion City is located in East Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zion City
- Baton Rouge
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- East Feliciana Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Dawson Switch, with the one closest to Dawson Switch listed first.
- Lindsay
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Lindsay is located in East Feliciana Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lindsay
- Jackson
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Bells Store ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Bells Store is located in East Feliciana Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bells Store
- Slaughter
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Ethel
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Wilson
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Iberville Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Dawson Switch, with the one closest to Dawson Switch listed first.
- Maringouin
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Rosedale
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Grosse Tete
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Saint Landry Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Dawson Switch, with the one closest to Dawson Switch listed first.
- Melville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Elba
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Elba is located in Saint Landry Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elba
- Half Moon
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Half Moon is located in Saint Landry Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Half Moon
- Krotz Springs
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Swayze Lake
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Swayze Lake is located in Saint Landry Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swayze Lake
- Palmetto
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Immaculata
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Immaculata is located in Saint Landry Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Immaculata
- Bayou Jack
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Bayou Jack is located in Saint Landry Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Jack
- Lebeau
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Port Barre
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Rosa
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Rosa is located in Saint Landry Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosa
- Portage
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Portage is located in Saint Landry Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portage
- West Baton Rouge Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Dawson Switch, with the one closest to Dawson Switch listed first.
- Erwinville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Arbroth
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Arbroth is located in West Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arbroth
- Carey
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Carey is located in West Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carey
- Devalls
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Devalls is located in West Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Devalls
- Wilbert ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Wilbert is located in West Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilbert
- Lobdell
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Lobdell is located in West Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lobdell
- Port Allen
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Brusly
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Brusly is located in West Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brusly
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,580 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brusly <1>
- Addis
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Addis is located in West Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Addis
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,464 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Addis <1>
- West Feliciana Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Dawson Switch, with the one closest to Dawson Switch listed first.
- Saint Francisville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Bains
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Bains is located in West Feliciana Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bains
- Tunica
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Angola
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Converse ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Converse is located in West Feliciana Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Converse
- Weyanoke
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Wakefield
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Rogillioville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Rogillioville is located in West Feliciana Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogillioville
- Wilkinson County (MS)
- Turnbull
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Turnbull is located in Wilkinson County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turnbull
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Dawson Switch, see our Parish-by-Parish Page for Dawson Switch.
Cemeteries Near Dawson Switch ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Dawson Switch.
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 Dawson Switch - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Dawson Switch covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Dawson Switch, with the one closest to Dawson Switch listed first.
- Mt. Airy Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- St. Marys Episcopal Chapel Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- St. Ann Catholic Church Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Ann Catholic Church Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Ann Catholic Church Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located less than 2 miles<2> to the southwest of Morganza.
- The St. Ann Catholic Church Cemetery has also been known as:
- St. Ann Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1982886 <3>
- Sixth Ward Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Bright Morning Star Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Fairlane Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- St. Francis of Pointe Coupee Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Francis of Pointe Coupee Church Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Francis of Pointe Coupee Church Cemetery is located 3 miles [4.8 km]<2> to the northwest of New Roads.
- The St. Francis of Pointe Coupee Church Cemetery has also been known as:
- St. Francis Catholic Church Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2147785 <3>
- Little Rock Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Zion Travelers Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Mt. Olive Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- St. Luke Baptist Church Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Luke Baptist Church Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Luke Baptist Church Cemetery is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<2> to the west of Ventress.
- The St. Luke Baptist Church Cemetery has also been known as:
- Greater St. Luke Baptist Church Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2219149 <3>
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Continue List (196 more) ...
- St. Mary's Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- St. Augustine Catholic Church Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Zion Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zion Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Zion Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<2> to the north of New Roads.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #69371 <3>
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 Dawson Switch in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Dawson Switch.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Dawson Switch, with the one closest to Dawson Switch listed first.
- Raccourci ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Raccourci is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raccourci
- Viva
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Viva is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Viva
- Ravenswood
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Ravenswood is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ravenswood
- New Roads
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Fordoche
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Pointe Coupee
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Pointe Coupee is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pointe Coupee
- Ventress
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Melville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Livonia
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Elba
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Elba is located in Saint Landry Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elba
- Anchor
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Anchor is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anchor
- Waterloo
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Waterloo is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterloo
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Lakeland
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Smithland
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Smithland is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smithland
- Rowes Landing
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Rowes Landing is located in West Feliciana Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowes Landing
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Dawson Switch. See our List of 1890's Communities around Dawson Switch.
Newspapers Published in Dawson Switch ...
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 29 newspapers that have been published in the area around Dawson Switch.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Dawson Switch, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Dawson Switch.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 Dawson Switch:
- Websites specific to Louisiana
- Pages specific to Pointe Coupee Parish
- Genealogy information for nearby parishes
- Avoyelles Parish
- East Baton Rouge Parish
- East Feliciana Parish
- Iberville Parish
- Saint Landry Parish
- West Baton Rouge Parish
- West Feliciana Parish
- Wilkinson County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Louisiana
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 '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- Dawson Switch) 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 Dawson Switch, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |