RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Louisiana >> Jefferson Davis Parish >> Lake Arthur >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Lake Arthur (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 Lake Arthur. 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 Lake Arthur ...

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.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Lake Arthur: Lk. Arthur

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

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 southeast corner of their home parish. During their lives, most 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 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.

Lake Arthur is located in Jefferson Davis 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 Jefferson Davis Parish: Acadia, Allen, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron, Evangeline & Vermilion.

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

  • Jefferson Davis Parish     (The home parish of Lake Arthur)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lake Arthur, with the one closest to Lake Arthur listed first.
    • Jennings
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Jennings is located in Jefferson Davis Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jennings
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,660 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jennings <1>
    • Roanoke
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Welsh
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Welsh is located in Jefferson Davis Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welsh
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,195 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Welsh <1>
    • Lacassine
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Fenton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Fenton is located in Jefferson Davis Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fenton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 349 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fenton <1>
    • Elton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Elton is located in Jefferson Davis Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,134 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elton <1>
  • Acadia Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lake Arthur, with the one closest to Lake Arthur listed first.
    • Mermentau
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Morse
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Egan
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Estherwood
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Evangeline
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Crowley
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Iota
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Iota is located in Acadia Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iota
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,428 people
    • Ebenezer
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Ebenezer is located in Acadia Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ebenezer
    • Ellis
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Ellis is located in Acadia Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellis
    • Rayne
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Branch
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Allen Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lake Arthur, with the one closest to Lake Arthur listed first.
    • Coverdale
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Coverdale is located in Allen Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coverdale
    • Lauderdale
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Lauderdale is located in Allen Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lauderdale
    • Kinder
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Indian Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Indian Village is located in Allen Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Village
  • Calcasieu Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lake Arthur, with the one closest to Lake Arthur listed first.
    • Hayes
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Bell City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Iowa
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Iowa is located in Calcasieu Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iowa
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,109 people
  • Cameron Parish
  • Evangeline Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lake Arthur, with the one closest to Lake Arthur listed first.
    • Basile
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Basile is located in Evangeline Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Basile
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,791 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Basile <1>
    • Tyrone
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Tyrone is located in Evangeline Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyrone
    • Unatex
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Unatex is located in Evangeline Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unatex
  • Lafayette Parish
    • Ridge
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Ridge is located in Lafayette Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridge
  • Vermilion Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lake Arthur, with the one closest to Lake Arthur listed first.
    • Gueydan
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Kaplan
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Kaplan is located in Vermilion Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kaplan
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,345 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kaplan <1>
    • Andrew
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Andrew is located in Vermilion Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Andrew
    • Indian Bayou
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Indian Bayou is located in Vermilion Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Bayou
    • Leroy
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Leroy is located in Vermilion Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leroy
    • Meaux
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Meaux is located in Vermilion Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meaux

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

Cemeteries Near Lake Arthur ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Lake Arthur.

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 Lake Arthur - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Andress Cove Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Istre Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Gueydon Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • LeBlanc Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Quebodaux Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Indian Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Foreman Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Simon Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Hanks Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • McFarlain Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (72 more) ...
    • Leckett Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Miller Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Leger Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)

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

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

  • Mermentau
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Estherwood
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Crowley
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Cartville ‑ Historic
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Cartville is located in Acadia Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cartville
  • Iowa
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Iowa is located in Calcasieu Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iowa
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,109 people
  • Indian Bayou
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Indian Bayou is located in Vermilion Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Bayou
  • Rayne
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Grand Chenier
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Chloe
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Chloe is located in Calcasieu Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chloe

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

Newspapers Published in Lake Arthur ...

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 19 newspapers that have been published in the area around Lake Arthur.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Lake Arthur, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Lake Arthur.

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 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 Lake Arthur:

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 Lake Arthur, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Lake Arthur) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.