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 Grayson (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 Grayson. 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 southwest corner of their home parish. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals 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 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, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.
If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.
Grayson is located in Caldwell 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 Caldwell Parish: Catahoula, Franklin, Jackson, La Salle, Ouachita, Richland & Winn.
Below are the parishes that are near Grayson. For each of these parishes, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Grayson:
- Caldwell Parish (The home parish of Grayson)
- The following are listed by their distance from Grayson, with the one closest to Grayson listed first.
- Banks Springs
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Banks Springs is located in Caldwell Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banks Springs
- Clarks
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Columbia
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Kelly
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Pleasant
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Pleasant is located in Caldwell Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- Fredericksburg ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Fredericksburg is located in Caldwell Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredericksburg
- Vixen
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Vixen is located in Caldwell Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vixen
- Catahoula Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Grayson, with the one closest to Grayson listed first.
- Rosefield
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Rosefield is located in Catahoula Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosefield
- Enterprise
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Enterprise is located in Catahoula Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enterprise
- Aimwell
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Harrisonburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Rhinehart
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Sicily Island
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Sicily Island is located in Catahoula Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sicily Island
- Population from the 2020 Census: 438 people
- Franklin Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Grayson, with the one closest to Grayson listed first.
- Liddieville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Liddieville is located in Franklin Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liddieville
- Fort Necessity
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Extension
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Extension is located in Franklin Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Extension
- Jigger
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Chase
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Winnsboro
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Baskin
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Gilbert
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Big Creek
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Big Creek is located in Franklin Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Creek
- Elam
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Elam is located in Franklin Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elam
- Wisner
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Grant Parish
- Georgetown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Jackson Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Grayson, with the one closest to Grayson listed first.
- Zoar
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Zoar is located in Jackson Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zoar
- Chatham
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Dalley ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Dalley is located in Jackson Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dalley
- Nash ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Nash is located in Jackson Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nash
- Eros
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- La Salle Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Grayson, with the one closest to Grayson listed first.
- Standard
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Standard is located in La Salle Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Standard
- Olla
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Urania
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Summerville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Summerville is located in La Salle Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerville
- Tullos
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Midway
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Midway is located in La Salle Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
- Trout
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Zenoria
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Zenoria is located in La Salle Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zenoria
- Jena
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Ouachita Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Grayson, with the one closest to Grayson listed first.
- Bosco
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Bosco is located in Ouachita Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bosco
- Cuba
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Cuba is located in Ouachita Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuba
- Lapine
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Lapine is located in Ouachita Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lapine
- Richwood
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Richwood is located in Ouachita Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,375 people
- Pino Bayou Village
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Pino Bayou Village is located in Ouachita Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pino Bayou Village
- Richland Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Grayson, with the one closest to Grayson listed first.
- New Light
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- New Light is located in Richland Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Light
- Alto
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Alto is located in Richland Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alto
- Mangham
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Archibald
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Winn Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Grayson, with the one closest to Grayson listed first.
- Newport
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Newport is located in Winn Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newport
- Flat Creek
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Flat Creek is located in Winn Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Creek
- Sikes
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Hudson
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Hudson is located in Winn Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hudson
- Joyce
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Grayson, see our Parish-by-Parish Page for Grayson.
Cemeteries Near Grayson ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Grayson.
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 Grayson - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Grayson covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Grayson, with the one closest to Grayson listed first.
- Welcome Home Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- New Bethel Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Yarborough Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Cross Roads Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Old Bethel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Little Star Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Columbia Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- First UMC Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for First UMC Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the First UMC Cemetery is located in Columbia.
- The First UMC Cemetery has also been known as:
- First Methodist Church Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2442011 <2>
- St. Peter Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Brown Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Lowe Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Tingle Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (228 more) ...
- Long Lake Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Davis Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Hargrove Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
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>
While we didn't find Grayson in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Grayson.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Grayson, with the one closest to Grayson listed first.
- Holum
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Holum is located in Caldwell Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holum
- Copenhagen
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Copenhagen is located in Caldwell Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Copenhagen
- Columbia
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Pleasant
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Pleasant is located in Caldwell Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- Riverton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Riverton is located in Caldwell Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverton
- Fredericksburg ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Fredericksburg is located in Caldwell Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredericksburg
- Cotton Plant
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Cotton Plant is located in Caldwell Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotton Plant
- Corey
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Corey is located in Caldwell Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corey
- Rosefield
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Rosefield is located in Catahoula Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosefield
- Blankston
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Blankston is located in Caldwell Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blankston
- Newport
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Newport is located in Winn Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newport
- Enterprise
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Enterprise is located in Catahoula Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enterprise
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Bosco
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Bosco is located in Ouachita Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bosco
- Cuba
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Cuba is located in Ouachita Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuba
- Flat Creek
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Flat Creek is located in Winn Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Creek
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Grayson. See our List of 1890's Communities around Grayson.
Newspapers Published in Grayson ...
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 18 newspapers that have been published in the area around Grayson.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Grayson, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Grayson.
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 Grayson:
- Websites specific to Louisiana
- Pages specific to Caldwell Parish
- Genealogy information for nearby parishes
- Catahoula Parish
- Franklin Parish
- Grant Parish
- Jackson Parish
- La Salle Parish
- Ouachita Parish
- Richland Parish
- Winn 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 Grayson, 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 from Point A (ie- Grayson) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |