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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 Mathews (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 Mathews. 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 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 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.

Mathews is located in Lafourche 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 Lafourche Parish: Assumption, Jefferson, Saint Charles, Saint James, Saint John the Baptist & Terrebonne.

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

  • Lafourche Parish     (The home parish of Mathews)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mathews, with the one closest to Mathews listed first.
    • Lockport
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Godchaux
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Godchaux is located in Lafourche Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Godchaux
    • Raceland Junction
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Raceland Junction is located in Lafourche Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raceland Junction
    • Raceland
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Gheens
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Bayou Blue
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Bayou Blue is located in Lafourche Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Blue
    • Larose
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Kraemer
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Cut Off
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Acadia
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Acadia is located in Lafourche Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acadia
    • Thibodaux
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Chackbay
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Chackbay is located in Lafourche Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chackbay
    • Galliano
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Assumption Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mathews, with the one closest to Mathews listed first.
    • Chula
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Chula is located in Assumption Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chula
    • Labadieville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Brule
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Brule is located in Assumption Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brule
    • Cedar Grove Plantation
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Leche
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Leche is located in Assumption Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leche
    • Supreme
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Supreme is located in Assumption Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Supreme
    • Georgia
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Georgia is located in Assumption Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georgia
    • Albemarle
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Albemarle is located in Assumption Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albemarle
    • Himalaya
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Himalaya is located in Assumption Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Himalaya
    • Bertie
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Bertie is located in Assumption Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bertie
    • Ingleside
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Ingleside is located in Assumption Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ingleside
    • Oakley
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Oakley is located in Assumption Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakley
    • Percle
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Percle is located in Assumption Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Percle
  • Jefferson Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mathews, with the one closest to Mathews listed first.
    • Barataria
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Avondale
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Waggaman
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Jean Lafitte
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Jean Lafitte is located in Jefferson Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jean Lafitte
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,996 people
    • Lafitte
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Harahan
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • River Ridge
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Crown Point
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Bridge City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Elmwood
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Estelle
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Estelle is located in Jefferson Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Estelle
    • Kenner
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • 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 <1>
    • Westwego
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Saint Charles Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mathews, with the one closest to Mathews listed first.
    • Bayou Gauche
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Bayou Gauche is located in Saint Charles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Gauche
    • Des Allemands
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Camardelle
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Camardelle is located in Saint Charles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camardelle
    • Tabatiere Perdue
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Tabatiere Perdue is located in Saint Charles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tabatiere Perdue
    • Chaudiere Casse
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Chaudiere Casse is located in Saint Charles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chaudiere Casse
    • Paradis
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Vallier
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Vallier is located in Saint Charles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vallier
    • Boutte
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Mimosa Park
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Mimosa Park is located in Saint Charles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mimosa Park
    • Lone Star
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Lone Star is located in Saint Charles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Star
    • Luling
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Davis ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Davis is located in Saint Charles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davis
    • Destrehan
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Saint James Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mathews, with the one closest to Mathews listed first.
    • South Vacherie
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • South Vacherie is located in Saint James Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Vacherie
    • North Vacherie
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • North Vacherie is located in Saint James Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Vacherie
    • Vacherie
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Lagan
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Lagan is located in Saint James Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lagan
    • Paulina
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Lutcher
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • 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 <1>
    • Hester
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Hester is located in Saint James Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hester
    • Saint James
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Gramercy
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Convent
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Burton Lane
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Burton Lane is located in Saint James Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burton Lane
    • Chatman Town
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Chatman Town is located in Saint James Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatman Town
    • Uncle Sam
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Saint John the Baptist Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mathews, with the one closest to Mathews listed first.
    • Edgard
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Garyville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Mount Airy
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Reserve
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Wallace
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Wallace is located in Saint John the Baptist Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallace
    • Laplace
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Frenier
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Frenier is located in Saint John the Baptist Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frenier
  • Terrebonne Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mathews, with the one closest to Mathews listed first.
    • Bourg
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Houma
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Houma is located in Terrebonne Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houma
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 32,467 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Houma <1>
    • Bayou Cane
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Bayou Cane is located in Terrebonne Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Cane
    • Broadmoor
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Broadmoor is located in Terrebonne Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broadmoor
    • Montegut
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Gray
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Ardoyne
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Ardoyne is located in Terrebonne Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ardoyne
    • Magnolia Plantation
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Magnolia Plantation is located in Terrebonne Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia Plantation
    • Minerva Plantation
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Minerva Plantation is located in Terrebonne Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minerva Plantation
    • Schriever
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Chauvin
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Point Barre
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Point Barre is located in Terrebonne Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Point Barre
    • Theriot
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Theriot is located in Terrebonne Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Theriot

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

Cemeteries Near Mathews ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Mathews.

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

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

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

  • New Fountain Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Holy Savior Church Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holy Savior Church Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Holy Savior Church Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Lockport.
    • The Holy Savior Church Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Holy Savior Catholic Church Cemetery
    • Holy Savior Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1286890 <2>
  • Hadley Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Matherne Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Myrtle Grove Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Ann Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Third Zion Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Bell Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Butler Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • St. John Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Elie Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Elie Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Elie Cemetery is located 8 miles [12.9 km]<3> to the southeast of Houma.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #68781 <2>
  • Continue List   (69 more) ...

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

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

  • Lockport
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Raceland
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Gheens
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Ewing
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Ewing is located in Lafourche Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ewing
  • Des Allemands
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Houma
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Houma is located in Terrebonne Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houma
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 32,467 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Houma <1>
  • Southdown
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Southdown is located in Terrebonne Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southdown
  • Montegut
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
  • Vallier
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Vallier is located in Saint Charles Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vallier
  • Crescent
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Crescent is located in Terrebonne Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crescent
  • Cut Off
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Thibodaux Junction
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Thibodaux Junction is located in Lafourche Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thibodaux Junction
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Central
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Central is located in Terrebonne Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central
    • Ellendale
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Ellendale is located in Terrebonne Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellendale
    • Schriever
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)

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

Newspapers Published in Mathews ...

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 34 newspapers that have been published in the area around Mathews.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Mathews, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Mathews.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 Mathews:

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>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 from Point A (ie- Mathews) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Mathews, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.