RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Louisiana >> Tangipahoa Parish >> Jena >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

So far, we found very little information about Jena. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>

We've added Jena to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Jena, please Contact Us.

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 Jena (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 Jena. 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 northwest corner of their home parish. During their lives, most doctors were in the next parish to the west. 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/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 north 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.

Although our information shows that the community of Jena is historic, it would have been located within present day Tangipahoa 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 Tangipahoa Parish: Livingston, Saint Helena, Saint John the Baptist, Saint Tammany, Washington, Amite (MS) & Pike (MS).

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

  • Tangipahoa Parish     (The home parish of Jena)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Jena, with the one closest to Jena listed first.
    • Ponchatoula
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Wadesboro
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Wadesboro is located in Tangipahoa Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wadesboro
    • Hammond
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Hammond is located in Tangipahoa Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hammond
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 21,359 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hammond <2>
    • Robert
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Baptist
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Baptist is located in Tangipahoa Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baptist
    • Akers
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Manchac
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Manchac is located in Tangipahoa Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manchac
    • Katie ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Katie is located in Tangipahoa Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Katie
    • Natalbany
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Genessee
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Genessee is located in Tangipahoa Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Genessee
    • Tickfaw
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Independence
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
  • Ascension Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Jena, with the one closest to Jena listed first.
    • Summerfield
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Summerfield is located in Ascension Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerfield
    • Claybank
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Claybank is located in Ascension Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claybank
    • Lake
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Lake is located in Ascension Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake
    • Brignac
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Brignac is located in Ascension Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brignac
    • Galvez Town
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Galvez Town is located in Ascension Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galvez Town
    • Saint Amant
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Weber City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Weber City is located in Ascension Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weber City
    • Galvez
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Galvez is located in Ascension Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galvez
    • Little Prairie
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Little Prairie is located in Ascension Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Prairie
    • Brittany
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Sorrento
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Hobart
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Hobart is located in Ascension Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hobart
  • Jefferson Parish
    • Kenner
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Kenner is located in Jefferson Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenner
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 66,288 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kenner <2>
  • Livingston Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Jena, with the one closest to Jena listed first.
    • Springfield
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Killian
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Killian is located in Livingston Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Killian
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,337 people
    • Albany
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Albany is located in Livingston Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albany
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,170 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Albany <2>
    • Clio
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Clio is located in Livingston Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clio
    • Holden
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Maurepas
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Starns
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Starns is located in Livingston Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Starns
    • Georgeville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Georgeville is located in Livingston Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georgeville
    • Livingston
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • French Settlement
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Port Vincent
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Port Vincent is located in Livingston Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Vincent
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 650 people
    • Walker
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Walker is located in Livingston Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walker
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,302 people
  • Saint Charles Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Jena, with the one closest to Jena listed first.
    • Gypsy
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Gypsy is located in Saint Charles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gypsy
    • Killona
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Montz
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Montz is located in Saint Charles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montz
    • Norco
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Taft
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Taft is located in Saint Charles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taft
    • Hahnville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • New Sarpy
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Saint Helena Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Jena, with the one closest to Jena listed first.
    • Montpelier
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Montpelier is located in Saint Helena Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montpelier
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 239 people
    • Pine Grove
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Saint James Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Jena, with the one closest to Jena listed first.
    • Gramercy
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Lutcher
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Lutcher is located in Saint James Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lutcher
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,127 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lutcher <2>
  • Saint John the Baptist Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Jena, with the one closest to Jena listed first.
    • Frenier
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Frenier is located in Saint John the Baptist Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frenier
    • Laplace
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Reserve
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Edgard
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Garyville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Mount Airy
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Wallace
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Wallace is located in Saint John the Baptist Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallace
  • Saint Tammany Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Jena, with the one closest to Jena listed first.
    • Madisonville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Goodbee
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Goodbee is located in Saint Tammany Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodbee
    • Covington
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Lewisburg
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Lewisburg is located in Saint Tammany Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewisburg
    • Mandeville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Folsom
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Folsom is located in Saint Tammany Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Folsom
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 871 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Folsom <2>
    • Saint Benedict
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Abita Springs
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Lacombe
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Washington Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Jena, with the one closest to Jena listed first.
    • Stoney Point
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Stoney Point is located in Washington Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoney Point
    • Enon
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Enon is located in Washington Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enon

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

Cemeteries Near Jena ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Jena.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

  • Ponchatoula
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Hammond
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Hammond is located in Tangipahoa Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hammond
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 21,359 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hammond <2>
  • Springfield
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Manchac
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Manchac is located in Tangipahoa Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manchac
  • Killian
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Killian is located in Livingston Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Killian
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,337 people
  • Katie ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Katie is located in Tangipahoa Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Katie
  • Tickfaw
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Clio
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Clio is located in Livingston Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clio
  • Springville
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Springville is located in Livingston Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springville
  • Bayou Barbary
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Bayou Barbary is located in Livingston Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Barbary
  • Independence
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
  • Madisonville
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Maurepas
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Starns
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Starns is located in Livingston Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Starns
    • Whitehall
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Whitehall is located in Livingston Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitehall

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

Newspapers Published in Jena ...

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 61 newspapers that have been published in the area around Jena.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Jena, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Jena.

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 professional and volunteer 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 Jena:

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Jena, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Jena) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.