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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 Goodwill (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 Goodwill. 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 doctors and 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.

Goodwill is located in West Carroll 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 West Carroll Parish: Chicot (AR), East Carroll, Morehouse & Richland.

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

  • West Carroll Parish     (The home parish of Goodwill)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Goodwill, with the one closest to Goodwill listed first.
    • Pioneer
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Forest
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Forest is located in West Carroll Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 335 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Forest <1>
    • Fiske
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Fiske is located in West Carroll Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fiske
    • Darnell
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Darnell is located in West Carroll Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darnell
    • Oak Grove
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Epps
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • 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>
    • Kilbourne
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
  • East Carroll Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Goodwill, with the one closest to Goodwill listed first.
    • Lake Providence
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Transylvania
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Sondheimer
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Madison Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Goodwill, with the one closest to Goodwill listed first.
    • Waverly
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Waverly is located in Madison Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waverly
    • Tendal
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Tendal is located in Madison Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tendal
    • Quebec
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Quebec is located in Madison Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quebec
    • Omega
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Omega is located in Madison Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Omega
  • Morehouse Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Goodwill, with the one closest to Goodwill listed first.
    • Bonita
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jones
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Mer Rouge
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Brodnax ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Brodnax is located in Morehouse Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brodnax
    • Oak Ridge
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Collinston
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Windsor
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Windsor is located in Morehouse Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsor
    • Bastrop
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
  • Ouachita Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Goodwill, with the one closest to Goodwill listed first.
    • Swartz
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Fairbanks
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Sterlington
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Richland Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Goodwill, with the one closest to Goodwill listed first.
    • Dunn
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Dunn is located in Richland Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunn
    • Holly Ridge
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Holly Ridge is located in Richland Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Ridge
    • Delhi
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Delhi is located in Richland Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delhi
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,753 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Delhi <1>
    • Rayville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Start
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Union Parish
    • Ouachita City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Ouachita City is located in Union Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ouachita City
  • Ashley County (AR)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Goodwill, with the one closest to Goodwill listed first.
    • Wilmot
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Wilmot is located in Ashley County (AR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmot
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 483 people
    • Parkdale
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Elon ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Elon is located in Ashley County (AR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elon
    • Meridian
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Meridian is located in Ashley County (AR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meridian
  • Chicot County (AR)
    • Eudora
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Eudora is located in Chicot County (AR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eudora
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,869 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eudora <1>
  • Issaquena County (MS)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Goodwill, with the one closest to Goodwill listed first.
    • Tallula
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Tallula is located in Issaquena County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tallula
    • Mayersville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Mayersville is located in Issaquena County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayersville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 517 people

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

Cemeteries Near Goodwill ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Goodwill.

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

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

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

  • McGaha Memorial
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGaha Memorial
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the McGaha Memorial is located 7 miles [11.3 km]<2> to the southwest of Oak Grove.
    • The McGaha Memorial has also been known as:
    • Redwing Cemetery Addition
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1959643 <3>
  • Redwing Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redwing Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Redwing Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 7 miles [11.3 km]<2> to the southwest of Oak Grove.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1451349 <3>
  • Forest Church of God Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Jackson Family Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Forest Lawn Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Forest Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Heart Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Wilson Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Oak Grove Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Shanks Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Bethany Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Epps Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (90 more) ...
    • Wimberley Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Stevenson Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Cooper Lake Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)

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 Goodwill in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Goodwill.

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

  • Forest
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Forest is located in West Carroll Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 335 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Forest <1>
  • Floyd
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Floyd is located in West Carroll Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Floyd
  • Oak Grove
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Bonita
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Jones
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Mer Rouge
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Brodnax ‑ Historic
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Brodnax is located in Morehouse Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brodnax
  • Cleora ‑ Historic
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Cleora is located in Morehouse Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleora
  • Oak Ridge
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Doss ‑ Historic
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Doss is located in Morehouse Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doss
  • Shelburn
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Shelburn is located in East Carroll Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shelburn
  • Kilbourne
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Causey ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Causey is located in Morehouse Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Causey
    • Bastrop
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Holly Ridge
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Holly Ridge is located in Richland Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Ridge

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

Newspapers Published in Goodwill ...

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 32 newspapers that have been published in the area around Goodwill.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Goodwill, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Goodwill.

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 websites either 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 Goodwill:

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 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Goodwill) 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 Goodwill, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.