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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 James Ferry (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 James Ferry. 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.

Name Variations for James Ferry ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

While the name of this community is James Ferry, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So James Ferry may originally have been Jame's Ferry.

Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case James Ferry might be written as Jame Ferry.

You might be interested in other communities that are also named James Ferry. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for James Ferry.

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

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 northeast corner of their home parish. During their lives, most doctors were in the next parish to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the parish to the north.

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 north 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.

James Ferry is located in Natchitoches 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 Natchitoches Parish: Bienville, De Soto, Grant, Rapides, Red River, Sabine, Vernon & Winn.

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

  • Natchitoches Parish     (The home parish of James Ferry)
    • The following are listed by their distance from James Ferry, with the one closest to James Ferry listed first.
    • Melrose
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Natchez
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Cloutierville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Derry
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Derry is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derry
    • Flora
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Natchitoches
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Provencal
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Forest
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Forest is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest
    • Gorum
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Bellwood
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Bellwood is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellwood
    • Clarence
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Victoria
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Victoria is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Victoria
  • Grant Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from James Ferry, with the one closest to James Ferry listed first.
    • Montgomery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Colfax
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Fairmount
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Fairmount is located in Grant Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmount
    • Black Creek ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Black Creek is located in Grant Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Creek
    • Dry Prong
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Bentley
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Rapides Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from James Ferry, with the one closest to James Ferry listed first.
    • Mora
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Flatwoods
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Lena
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Rock
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Rock is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock
    • Zimmerman
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Zimmerman is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zimmerman
    • Boyce
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Hot Wells
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Hot Wells is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hot Wells
    • Hemphill
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Hemphill is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hemphill
    • Gardner
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Sieper
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Red River Parish
    • Lake End
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Lake End is located in Red River Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake End
  • Sabine Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from James Ferry, with the one closest to James Ferry listed first.
    • Corleyville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Corleyville is located in Sabine Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corleyville
    • Fisher
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Many
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Many is located in Sabine Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Many
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,667 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Many <2>
    • Florien
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Belmont
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Vernon Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from James Ferry, with the one closest to James Ferry listed first.
    • Alco
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Alco is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alco
    • Kurthwood
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Simpson
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Hicks
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Hicks is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicks
    • Slagle
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Walnut Hill
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Walnut Hill is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Hill
    • Hornbeck
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Winn Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from James Ferry, with the one closest to James Ferry listed first.
    • Saint Maurice
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Couley
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Couley is located in Winn Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Couley
    • Atlanta
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Whitford
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Whitford is located in Winn Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitford
    • Coldwater
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Coldwater is located in Winn Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coldwater
    • Calvin
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Bethlehem
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Bethlehem is located in Winn Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethlehem
    • Winnfield
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)

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

Cemeteries Near James Ferry ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of James Ferry.

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 James Ferry - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Camel Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Russell Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Lee Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Creola Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Weaver Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Pleasant Hill Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Downden Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Union Grove Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Vascocu Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Bayou Blue Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Roberts Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Jackson Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (167 more) ...
    • Botton Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Emanuel Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • St. Simon Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)

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

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

  • Cypress
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Cypress is located in Natchitoches Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cypress
  • Melrose
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Bermuda
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Bermuda is located in Natchitoches Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bermuda
  • Derry
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Derry is located in Natchitoches Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derry
  • Cloutierville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Montgomery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Mount Zion
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Mount Zion is located in Winn Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
  • Saint Maurice
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Chopin
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Chopin is located in Natchitoches Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chopin
  • Natchitoches
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Provencal
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Bellwood
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Bellwood is located in Natchitoches Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellwood
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Gorum
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Trichell
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Trichell is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trichell
    • Victoria
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Victoria is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Victoria

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

Newspapers Published in James Ferry ...

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 33 newspapers that have been published in the area around James Ferry.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of James Ferry, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for James Ferry.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with 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 James Ferry:

Footnotes ...

<1>It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties).
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- James Ferry) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 James Ferry, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.