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 Lela (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 Lela. 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 hospitals 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.
Lela is located in Bossier 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 Bossier Parish: Lafayette (AR), Miller (AR), Bienville, Caddo, Red River & Webster.
Below are the parishes/counties that are near Lela. For each of these parishes/counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Lela:
- Bossier Parish (The home parish of Lela)
- The following are listed by their distance from Lela, with the one closest to Lela listed first.
- Plain Dealing
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Alden Bridge
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Alden Bridge is located in Bossier Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alden Bridge
- Ivan
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Ivan is located in Bossier Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivan
- Benton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Bellevue
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Bellevue is located in Bossier Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellevue
- Princeton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Eastwood
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Eastwood is located in Bossier Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastwood
- Espanita Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Espanita Village is located in Bossier Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Espanita Village
- Red Chute
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Red Chute is located in Bossier Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Chute
- Bodcau
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Bodcau is located in Bossier Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bodcau
- Fillmore
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Fillmore is located in Bossier Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fillmore
- Parkland Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Parkland Village is located in Bossier Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkland Village
- Caddo Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Lela, with the one closest to Lela listed first.
- Missionary
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Missionary is located in Caddo Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Missionary
- Hosston
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Ida
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Ida is located in Caddo Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ida
- Population from the 2020 Census: 208 people
- Gilliam
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Frog Level ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Frog Level is located in Caddo Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frog Level
- Black Bayou ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Black Bayou is located in Caddo Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Bayou
- Belcher
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Rodessa
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Vivian
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Zylks
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Zylks is located in Caddo Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zylks
- Garfield ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Garfield is located in Caddo Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garfield
- Oil City
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Mooringsport
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Claiborne Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Lela, with the one closest to Lela listed first.
- Dykesville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Dykesville is located in Claiborne Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dykesville
- Blackburn
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Blackburn is located in Claiborne Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackburn
- Webster Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Lela, with the one closest to Lela listed first.
- Springhill
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Cullen
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Sarepta
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Cotton Valley
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Shongaloo
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Columbia County (AR)
- The following are listed by their distance from Lela, with the one closest to Lela listed first.
- Welcome
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Welcome is located in Columbia County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welcome
- Taylor
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Western
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Western is located in Columbia County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Western
- Horsehead
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Horsehead is located in Columbia County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horsehead
- Macedonia
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Macedonia is located in Columbia County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macedonia
- Philadelphia
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Philadelphia is located in Columbia County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Philadelphia
- Emerson
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Emerson is located in Columbia County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 338 people
- Lafayette County (AR)
- The following are listed by their distance from Lela, with the one closest to Lela listed first.
- Bradley
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Gin City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Gin City is located in Lafayette County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gin City
- Walnut Hill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Walnut Hill is located in Lafayette County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Hill
- Kress City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Kress City is located in Lafayette County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kress City
- McKamie
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- McKamie is located in Lafayette County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McKamie
- Lewisville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Stamps
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Stamps is located in Lafayette County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stamps
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,467 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Stamps <1>
- Old Town
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Old Town is located in Lafayette County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Town
- Buckner
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Buckner is located in Lafayette County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckner
- Population from the 2020 Census: 229 people
- Miller County (AR)
- The following are listed by their distance from Lela, with the one closest to Lela listed first.
- Doddridge
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Capps City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Capps City is located in Miller County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Capps City
- Fouke
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Roberts ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Roberts is located in Miller County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roberts
- Garland
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Garland is located in Miller County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 235 people
- Cass County (TX)
- The following are listed by their distance from Lela, with the one closest to Lela listed first.
- McLeod
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Bloomburg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Huffins
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Huffins is located in Cass County (TX)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huffins
- Queen City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Atlanta
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Bivins
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Lela, see our Parish-by-Parish Page for Lela.
Cemeteries Near Lela ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Lela.
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 Lela - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Lela covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Lela, with the one closest to Lela listed first.
- Wyche Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Ford Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Plain Dealing Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Salem Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Oak Hill Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Caldwell Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caldwell Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Caldwell Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the east of Plain Dealing.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #67130 <2>
- Hill Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Bradley Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Collinsburg Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Smith - Gilmer Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Stubbs Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Boggs Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Continue List (142 more) ...
- High Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Timothy Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- St. Mary Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
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 Lela in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Lela.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Lela, with the one closest to Lela listed first.
- Arkana
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Arkana is located in Bossier Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arkana
- Plain Dealing
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Redland
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Redland is located in Bossier Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redland
- Carterville
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Carterville is located in Bossier Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carterville
- Collinsburg
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Collinsburg is located in Bossier Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collinsburg
- Bradley
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Missionary
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Missionary is located in Caddo Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Missionary
- Walnut Hill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Walnut Hill is located in Lafayette County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Hill
- Rocky Mount
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Rocky Mount is located in Bossier Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Mount
- Hughes
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Hughes is located in Bossier Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hughes
- Welcome
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Welcome is located in Columbia County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welcome
- Alden Bridge
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Alden Bridge is located in Bossier Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alden Bridge
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Sarepta
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Canfield
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Canfield is located in Lafayette County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canfield
- Ivan
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Ivan is located in Bossier Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivan
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Lela. See our List of 1890's Communities around Lela.
Newspapers Published in Lela ...
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 7 newspapers that have been published in the area around Lela.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Lela, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Lela.
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 Lela:
- Websites specific to Louisiana
- Pages specific to Bossier Parish
- Genealogy information for nearby parishes
- Caddo Parish
- Claiborne Parish
- Webster Parish
- Columbia County
- Lafayette County
- Miller County
- Cass County
- 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 Lela, 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' (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- Lela) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |