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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 Lotus (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 Lotus. 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 northwest corner of their home parish. During their lives, most hospitals and 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 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, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Lotus 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 Lotus. For each of these parishes, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Lotus:

  • Natchitoches Parish     (The home parish of Lotus)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lotus, with the one closest to Lotus listed first.
    • Bellwood
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Bellwood is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellwood
    • Flora
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Vowells Mill
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Vowells Mill is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vowells Mill
    • Derry
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Derry is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derry
    • Gorum
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Provencal
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Melrose
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Cloutierville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Natchez
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Victoria
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Victoria is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Victoria
    • Robeline
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Natchitoches
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
  • Grant Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lotus, with the one closest to Lotus listed first.
    • Montgomery
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Colfax
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Fairmount
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Fairmount is located in Grant Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmount
  • Rapides Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lotus, with the one closest to Lotus listed first.
    • Mora
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Flatwoods
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Lena
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Rock
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Rock is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock
    • Zimmerman
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Zimmerman is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zimmerman
    • Hot Wells
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Hot Wells is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hot Wells
    • Hemphill
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Hemphill is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hemphill
    • Sieper
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Boyce
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Gardner
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Otis
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Sabine Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lotus, with the one closest to Lotus listed first.
    • Corleyville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Corleyville is located in Sabine Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corleyville
    • Fisher
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Florien
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Many
      (21 miles [33.8 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 <1>
    • Negreet
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Belmont
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Toro
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Toro is located in Sabine Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toro
    • Bayou Scie
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Bayou Scie is located in Sabine Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Scie
  • Vernon Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lotus, with the one closest to Lotus listed first.
    • Alco
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Alco is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alco
    • Kurthwood
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Simpson
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Slagle
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Hornbeck
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Walnut Hill
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Walnut Hill is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Hill
    • Anacoco
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Hicks
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Hicks is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicks
    • Leesville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Fertitta Park
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Fertitta Park is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fertitta Park
    • Westwood Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Westwood Village is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood Village
    • Lacamp
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Winn Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lotus, with the one closest to Lotus listed first.
    • Saint Maurice
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Couley
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Couley is located in Winn Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Couley

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

Cemeteries Near Lotus ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Lotus.

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

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

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

  • Beasley Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Key Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Downden Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Old Bellwood Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Moss Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Truer Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Old Kisatchie Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • New Kisatchie Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Booty Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Folly Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Kile Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Jackson Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (164 more) ...
    • Antioch Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Russell Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Hardamon Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)

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

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

  • Kisatchie
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Kisatchie is located in Natchitoches Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kisatchie
  • Bellwood
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Bellwood is located in Natchitoches Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellwood
  • Cypress
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Cypress is located in Natchitoches Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cypress
  • Vowells Mill
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Vowells Mill is located in Natchitoches Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vowells Mill
  • Gorum
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Derry
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Derry is located in Natchitoches Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derry
  • Provencal
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Melrose
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Mora
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Victoria
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Victoria is located in Natchitoches Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Victoria
  • Cloutierville
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Corleyville
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Corleyville is located in Sabine Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corleyville
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Bermuda
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Bermuda is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bermuda
    • Chopin
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Chopin is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chopin
    • Simpson
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Lotus ...

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 45 newspapers that have been published in the area around Lotus.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Lotus, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Lotus.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Lotus:

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 Lotus, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Lotus) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.