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 Girard (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 Girard. 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.
Girard is located in Richland 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 Richland Parish: Caldwell, East Carroll, Franklin, Madison, Morehouse, Ouachita & West Carroll.
Below are the parishes that are near Girard. For each of these parishes, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Girard:
- Richland Parish (The home parish of Girard)
- The following are listed by their distance from Girard, with the one closest to Girard listed first.
- Rayville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Start
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Alto
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Alto is located in Richland Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alto
- Archibald
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Holly Ridge
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Holly Ridge is located in Richland Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Ridge
- Mangham
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Dunn
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Dunn is located in Richland Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunn
- New Light
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- New Light is located in Richland Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Light
- Delhi
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Caldwell Parish
- Columbia
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Franklin Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Girard, with the one closest to Girard listed first.
- Big Creek
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Big Creek is located in Franklin Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Creek
- Baskinton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Baskinton is located in Franklin Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baskinton
- Baskin
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Crowville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Winnsboro
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Liddieville
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Liddieville is located in Franklin Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liddieville
- Swampers
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Swampers is located in Franklin Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swampers
- Chase
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Fort Necessity
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Madison Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Girard, with the one closest to Girard listed first.
- Waverly
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Waverly is located in Madison Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waverly
- Tendal
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Tendal is located in Madison Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tendal
- Quebec
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Quebec is located in Madison Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quebec
- Morehouse Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Girard, with the one closest to Girard listed first.
- Oak Ridge
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Windsor
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Windsor is located in Morehouse Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsor
- Collinston
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Mer Rouge
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Bastrop
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Brodnax ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Brodnax is located in Morehouse Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brodnax
- Ouachita Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Girard, with the one closest to Girard listed first.
- Swartz
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Spanish City
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Spanish City is located in Ouachita Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spanish City
- Leisure Village
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Leisure Village is located in Ouachita Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leisure Village
- Pino Bayou Village
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Pino Bayou Village is located in Ouachita Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pino Bayou Village
- Richwood
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Richwood is located in Ouachita Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,375 people
- Fairbanks
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Northpark Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Northpark Village is located in Ouachita Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northpark Village
- Monroe
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Sterlington
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- West Monroe
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- West Monroe is located in Ouachita Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Monroe
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,086 people
- Bosco
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Bosco is located in Ouachita Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bosco
- Cuba
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Cuba is located in Ouachita Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuba
- Union Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Girard, with the one closest to Girard listed first.
- Ouachita City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Ouachita City is located in Union Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ouachita City
- Wilhite
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Wilhite is located in Union Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilhite
- West Carroll Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Girard, with the one closest to Girard listed first.
- Epps
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Epps is located in West Carroll Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Epps
- Population from the 2020 Census: 809 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Epps <1>
- Darnell
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Darnell is located in West Carroll Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darnell
- Pioneer
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Girard, see our Parish-by-Parish Page for Girard.
Cemeteries Near Girard ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Girard.
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 Girard - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Girard covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Girard, with the one closest to Girard listed first.
- Roberts Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Royal Blue Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Love & Charity Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- New Salem Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- James Chapel Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Horn Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Masonic Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Wynn Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Start Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Irwin Lake Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Greer Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Trio Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (148 more) ...
- Gwin Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- St. Luke Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Archibald Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
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.<3>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Girard had a population of 90 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Girard, with the one closest to Girard listed first.
- Rayville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Crew Lake
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Crew Lake is located in Richland Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crew Lake
- Bee Bayou
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Bee Bayou is located in Richland Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bee Bayou
- Alto
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Alto is located in Richland Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alto
- Archibald
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Holly Ridge
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Holly Ridge is located in Richland Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Ridge
- Oak Ridge
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Millhaven
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Millhaven is located in Ouachita Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millhaven
- Mangham
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Doss ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Doss is located in Morehouse Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doss
- Charlieville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Charlieville is located in Richland Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlieville
- Baskinton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Baskinton is located in Franklin Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baskinton
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Sicard
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Sicard is located in Ouachita Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sicard
- Cleora ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Cleora is located in Morehouse Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleora
- Delhi
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Girard. See our List of 1890's Communities around Girard.
Newspapers Published in Girard ...
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 44 newspapers that have been published in the area around Girard.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Girard, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Girard.
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 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 Girard:
- Websites specific to Louisiana
- Pages specific to Richland Parish
- Genealogy information for nearby parishes
- Caldwell Parish
- Franklin Parish
- Madison Parish
- Morehouse Parish
- Ouachita Parish
- Union Parish
- West Carroll Parish
- 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> | 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. |
| <3> | 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 Girard, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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- Girard) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |