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 Lawtell (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 Lawtell. 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.
Lawtell is located in Saint Landry 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 Saint Landry Parish: Acadia, Avoyelles, Evangeline, Lafayette, Pointe Coupee & Saint Martin.
Below are the parishes that are near Lawtell. For each of these parishes, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Lawtell:
- Saint Landry Parish (The home parish of Lawtell)
- The following are listed by their distance from Lawtell, with the one closest to Lawtell listed first.
- Lewisburg
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Lewisburg is located in Saint Landry Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewisburg
- Opelousas
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Washington
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Grand Coteau
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Sunset
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Leonville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Cankton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Cankton is located in Saint Landry Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cankton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 504 people
- Port Barre
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Frozard
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Frozard is located in Saint Landry Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frozard
- Eunice
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Boretta
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Boretta is located in Saint Landry Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boretta
- Arnaudville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Immaculata
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Immaculata is located in Saint Landry Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Immaculata
- Acadia Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Lawtell, with the one closest to Lawtell listed first.
- Church Point
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Higginbotham
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Higginbotham is located in Acadia Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Higginbotham
- Branch
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Castille
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Castille is located in Acadia Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castille
- Ellis
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Ellis is located in Acadia Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellis
- Rayne
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Iota
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Iota is located in Acadia Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iota
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,428 people
- Crowley
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Ebenezer
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Ebenezer is located in Acadia Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ebenezer
- Egan
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Estherwood
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Evangeline
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Allen Parish
- Bond
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Bond is located in Allen Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bond
- Avoyelles Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Lawtell, with the one closest to Lawtell listed first.
- Gold Dust
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Gold Dust is located in Avoyelles Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gold Dust
- Milburn
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Milburn is located in Avoyelles Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milburn
- Eola
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Eola is located in Avoyelles Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eola
- Bunkie
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Evergreen
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Evangeline Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Lawtell, with the one closest to Lawtell listed first.
- Chataignier
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Ville Platte
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Mamou
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Reddell
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Duralde
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Duralde is located in Evangeline Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duralde
- Tyrone
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Tyrone is located in Evangeline Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyrone
- Unatex
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Unatex is located in Evangeline Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unatex
- Saint Landry
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Bayou Chicot
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Bayou Chicot is located in Evangeline Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Chicot
- Pine Prairie
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Basile
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Turkey Creek
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Jefferson Davis Parish
- Elton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- 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>
- Lafayette Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Lawtell, with the one closest to Lawtell listed first.
- Carencro
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Ossun
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Ossun is located in Lafayette Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ossun
- Stekey
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Stekey is located in Lafayette Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stekey
- Duson
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Scott
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Lafayette
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Ridge
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Ridge is located in Lafayette Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridge
- Broussard
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Milton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Billeaud
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Billeaud is located in Lafayette Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Billeaud
- Pointe Coupee Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Lawtell, with the one closest to Lawtell listed first.
- East Krotz Springs
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- East Krotz Springs is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Krotz Springs
- Elliot City ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Elliot City is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliot City
- Saint Martin Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Lawtell, with the one closest to Lawtell listed first.
- Breaux Bridge
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Cecilia
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Henderson
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Parks
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Vermilion Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Lawtell, with the one closest to Lawtell listed first.
- Indian Bayou
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Indian Bayou is located in Vermilion Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Bayou
- Maurice
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Andrew
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Andrew is located in Vermilion Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Andrew
- Leroy
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Leroy is located in Vermilion Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leroy
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Lawtell, see our Parish-by-Parish Page for Lawtell.
Cemeteries Near Lawtell ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Lawtell.
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 Lawtell - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Lawtell covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Lawtell, with the one closest to Lawtell listed first.
- Pitre Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Bertrand Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Verret Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Fontenot Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Baptist Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Daly Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bellevue Memorial Park
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Montgomery - Wilkins Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- St. Landry Catholic Church Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Landry Catholic Church Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Landry Catholic Church Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Opelousas.
- The St. Landry Catholic Church Cemetery has also been known as:
- St. Landry Cemetery
- St. Landry Church Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1924120 <3>
- St. Andrews Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Green Oak Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Frilot Cove Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Continue List (166 more) ...
- Guillory Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Francois Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- McBride Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
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 Lawtell in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Lawtell.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Lawtell, with the one closest to Lawtell listed first.
- Opelousas
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Plaisance
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Plaisance is located in Saint Landry Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plaisance
- Prudhomme
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Prudhomme is located in Acadia Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prudhomme
- Church Point
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Shuteston
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Shuteston is located in Saint Landry Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shuteston
- Sunset
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Grand Coteau
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Washington
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Leonville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Frozard
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Frozard is located in Saint Landry Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frozard
- Port Barre
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Beggs
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Beggs is located in Saint Landry Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beggs
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Garland
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Garland is located in Saint Landry Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garland
- Carencro
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Boretta
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Boretta is located in Saint Landry Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boretta
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Lawtell. See our List of 1890's Communities around Lawtell.
Newspapers Published in Lawtell ...
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 56 newspapers that have been published in the area around Lawtell.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Lawtell, 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 Lawtell.
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 Lawtell:
- Websites specific to Louisiana
- Pages specific to Saint Landry Parish
- Genealogy information for nearby parishes
- Acadia Parish
- Allen Parish
- Avoyelles Parish
- Evangeline Parish
- Jefferson Davis Parish
- Lafayette Parish
- Pointe Coupee Parish
- Saint Martin Parish
- Vermilion 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Lawtell) 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 Lawtell, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |