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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 Gillis (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 Gillis. 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 southwest corner of their home parish. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors 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/counties 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/counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

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

Gillis is located in Calcasieu Parish.

To see how the shape of Louisiana's parishes have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following parishes adjoin and form the boundaries of Calcasieu Parish: Beauregard, Cameron, Jefferson Davis, Newton (TX) & Orange (TX).

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

  • Calcasieu Parish     (The home parish of Gillis)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gillis, with the one closest to Gillis listed first.
    • Moss Bluff
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moss Bluff have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moss Bluff
      • Moss Bluff is located in Calcasieu Parish
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moss Bluff <2>
    • Ararat
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ararat
      • Ararat is located in Calcasieu Parish
    • Westlake
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Westlake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westlake
      • Westlake is located in Calcasieu Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,873 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Westlake <2>
    • Lake Charles
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Greinwich Village
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greinwich Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greinwich Village
      • Greinwich Village is located in Calcasieu Parish
    • Prien
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prien
      • Prien is located in Calcasieu Parish
    • Sulphur
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Iowa
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Iowa have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iowa
      • Iowa is located in Calcasieu Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,109 people
    • DeQuincy
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for DeQuincy have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for DeQuincy
      • DeQuincy is located in Calcasieu Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,009 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for DeQuincy <2>
    • Carlyss
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlyss
      • Carlyss is located in Calcasieu Parish
    • Edgerly
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgerly
      • Edgerly is located in Calcasieu Parish
    • Bell City
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bell City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell City
      • Bell City is located in Calcasieu Parish
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bell City <2>
  • Allen Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gillis, with the one closest to Gillis listed first.
    • Reeves
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reeves have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reeves
      • Reeves is located in Allen Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 243 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Reeves <2>
    • Indian Village
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Village
      • Indian Village is located in Allen Parish
    • Le Blanc
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Le Blanc have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Le Blanc
      • Le Blanc is located in Allen Parish
    • Kinder
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kinder have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinder
      • Kinder is located in Allen Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,324 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kinder <2>
    • Coverdale
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coverdale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coverdale
      • Coverdale is located in Allen Parish
    • Lauderdale
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lauderdale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lauderdale
      • Lauderdale is located in Allen Parish
    • Mittie
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mittie have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mittie
      • Mittie is located in Allen Parish
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mittie <2>
  • Beauregard Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gillis, with the one closest to Gillis listed first.
    • Ragley
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ragley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ragley
      • Ragley is located in Beauregard Parish
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ragley <2>
    • Longville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Longville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longville
      • Longville is located in Beauregard Parish
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Longville <2>
    • Helme
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Helme have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helme
      • Helme is located in Beauregard Parish
    • Dry Creek
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dry Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Creek
      • Dry Creek is located in Beauregard Parish
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dry Creek <2>
    • Singer
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Singer have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Singer
      • Singer is located in Beauregard Parish
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Singer <2>
    • Newlin
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Newlin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newlin
      • Newlin is located in Beauregard Parish
  • Cameron Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gillis, with the one closest to Gillis listed first.
    • Grand Lake
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grand Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Lake
      • Grand Lake is located in Cameron Parish
    • Hackberry
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hackberry have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hackberry
      • Hackberry is located in Cameron Parish
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hackberry <2>
  • Jefferson Davis Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gillis, with the one closest to Gillis listed first.
    • Fenton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fenton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fenton
      • Fenton is located in Jefferson Davis Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 349 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fenton <2>
    • Lacassine
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lacassine have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacassine
      • Lacassine is located in Jefferson Davis Parish
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lacassine <2>
    • Welsh
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Welsh have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welsh
      • Welsh is located in Jefferson Davis Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,195 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Welsh <2>
    • Roanoke
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Roanoke have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roanoke
      • Roanoke is located in Jefferson Davis Parish
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Roanoke <2>
    • Elton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elton
      • Elton is located in Jefferson Davis Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,134 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elton <2>

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

Newspapers Published in Gillis ...

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 42 newspapers that have been published in the area around Gillis.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Gillis, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Gillis.

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 Gillis:

Cemeteries Near Gillis ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Gillis.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

  • Birdsnest Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Birdsnest Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Birdsnest Cemetery
  • Ritchie Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ritchie Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ritchie Cemetery
  • West Fork Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the West Fork Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the West Fork Cemetery
  • Bagdad Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bagdad Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bagdad Cemetery
  • Goos Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Goos Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Goos Cemetery
  • Emanuel Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Emanuel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Emanuel Cemetery
  • Gillie Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gillie Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gillie Cemetery
  • Perkins Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Perkins Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Perkins Cemetery
  • Bilbo Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bilbo Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bilbo Cemetery
  • Orange Grove Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Orange Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Orange Grove Cemetery
  • Combre Memorial Park
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Sacred Heart Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (75 more) ...
    • LeBleu Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the LeBleu Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the LeBleu Cemetery
    • Creel Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Creel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Creel Cemetery
    • Alston Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Alston Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Alston Cemetery

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.<5>

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

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

  • Westlake
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Westlake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westlake
    • Westlake is located in Calcasieu Parish
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,873 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Westlake <2>
  • Chloe
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chloe have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chloe
    • Chloe is located in Calcasieu Parish
  • Lake Charles
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Iowa
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Iowa have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iowa
    • Iowa is located in Calcasieu Parish
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,109 people
  • Edgerly
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgerly
    • Edgerly is located in Calcasieu Parish
  • Grand Lake
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grand Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Lake
    • Grand Lake is located in Cameron Parish
  • Vinton
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vinton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vinton
    • Vinton is located in Calcasieu Parish
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,211 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vinton <2>
  • Hackberry
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hackberry have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hackberry
    • Hackberry is located in Cameron Parish
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hackberry <2>

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

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Gillis. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Calcasieu Parish: www.cppj.net/

The official website for State of Louisiana: louisiana.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<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- Gillis) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Gillis. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 30.3738, Longitude: -93.2010       In this case, the coordinates for Gillis have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>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.
<5>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 Gillis, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024