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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

So far, we found very little information about Dona. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>

We've added Dona to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Dona, please Contact Us.

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 Dona (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 Dona. 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 southeast 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 south.

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 south 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.

Although our information shows that the community of Dona is historic, it would have been located within present day De Soto 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 De Soto Parish: Caddo, Natchitoches, Red River, Sabine, Panola (TX) & Shelby (TX).

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

  • De Soto Parish     (The home parish of Dona)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dona, with the one closest to Dona listed first.
    • Screamerville ‑ Historic
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Screamerville is located in De Soto Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Screamerville
    • Stanley
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Stanley is located in De Soto Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 116 people
    • Grand Cane
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Longstreet
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Logansport
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • South Mansfield
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • South Mansfield is located in De Soto Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Mansfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 352 people
    • Mansfield
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Keachi
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Keachi is located in De Soto Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keachi
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 300 people
    • Gloster
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Oxford
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Oxford is located in De Soto Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxford
    • Stonewall
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Frierson
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Pelican
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
  • Bossier Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dona, with the one closest to Dona listed first.
    • Atkins
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Atkins is located in Bossier Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atkins
    • Elm Grove
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Caddo Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dona, with the one closest to Dona listed first.
    • Spring Ridge
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Spring Ridge is located in Caddo Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Ridge
    • Keithville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Bethany
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Edgewood Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Edgewood Village is located in Caddo Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgewood Village
    • Ellerbe Woods
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Ellerbe Woods is located in Caddo Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellerbe Woods
    • South Towne Heights
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • South Towne Heights is located in Caddo Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Towne Heights
    • Summer Grove
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Summer Grove is located in Caddo Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summer Grove
    • Reisor
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Reisor is located in Caddo Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reisor
    • Silver Pine Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Silver Pine Village is located in Caddo Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Pine Village
    • Chateau Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Chateau Village is located in Caddo Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chateau Village
    • Greenwood
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • Red River Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dona, with the one closest to Dona listed first.
    • Abington
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Abington is located in Red River Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abington
    • Westdale
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Westdale is located in Red River Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westdale
    • Harmon
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • East Point
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • East Point is located in Red River Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Point
    • Carroll
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Carroll is located in Red River Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carroll
    • Halfway
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Halfway is located in Red River Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halfway
  • Sabine Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dona, with the one closest to Dona listed first.
    • Converse
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Noble
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Pleasant Hill
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Hamlin ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Hamlin is located in Sabine Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamlin
    • Bayou Scie
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Bayou Scie is located in Sabine Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Scie
    • Belmont
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Zwolle
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Harrison County (TX)
  • Panola County (TX)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dona, with the one closest to Dona listed first.
    • Woods
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Woods is located in Panola County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woods
    • Midyett
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Midyett is located in Panola County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midyett
    • De Berry
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Panola
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Carthage
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Gary City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Murvaul
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Murvaul is located in Panola County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murvaul
  • Shelby County (TX)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dona, with the one closest to Dona listed first.
    • Haslam
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Haslam is located in Shelby County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haslam
    • Joaquin
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Campti
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Campti is located in Shelby County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campti
    • Huxley
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Huxley is located in Shelby County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huxley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 376 people
    • Shelbyville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Tenaha
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Tenaha is located in Shelby County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tenaha
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,134 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tenaha <2>
    • Africa ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Africa is located in Shelby County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Africa
    • Center
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Center is located in Shelby County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,043 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Center <2>
    • Choice
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Choice is located in Shelby County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Choice
    • Short
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Short is located in Shelby County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Short

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

Cemeteries Near Dona ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Dona.

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

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

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

  • Spanish Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Prude Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Cook Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Friendship Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Union Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Price Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Gamble Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Mt. Zion Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Shady Grove Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Ebenezer Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Zion Hill Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Flower Hill Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (157 more) ...
    • Johnson Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Barber Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Stephenson Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 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.

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

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

  • Cook ‑ Historic
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Cook is located in De Soto Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cook
  • Grand Cane
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Longstreet
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Logansport
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Joaquin
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Keachi
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Keachi is located in De Soto Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keachi
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 300 people
  • Mansfield
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Lula
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Lula is located in De Soto Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lula
  • Gloster
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Kingston
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Kingston is located in De Soto Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingston
  • Oxford
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Oxford is located in De Soto Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxford
  • Carmel
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Carmel is located in De Soto Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carmel
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Centennial
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Centennial is located in Panola County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centennial
    • Deadwood
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Deadwood is located in Panola County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deadwood
    • Stonewall
      (18 miles [29 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 Dona. See our List of 1890's Communities around Dona.

Newspapers Published in Dona ...

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 25 newspapers that have been published in the area around Dona.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Dona, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Dona.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start 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 Dona:

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Dona, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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 from Point A (ie- Dona) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.