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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 Melder (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 Melder. 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 northeast corner of their home parish. During their lives, most doctors were in the next parish to the east. 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 east 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.

Melder is located in Rapides 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 Rapides Parish: Allen, Avoyelles, Evangeline, Grant, La Salle, Natchitoches & Vernon.

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

  • Rapides Parish     (The home parish of Melder)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Melder, with the one closest to Melder listed first.
    • Elmer
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Forest Hill
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Hineston
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Woodworth
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Longleaf
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • McNary
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • McNary is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McNary
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 206 people
    • Otis
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Glenmora
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Gardner
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Hemphill
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Hemphill is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hemphill
    • Sieper
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Lecompte
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Anandale
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Anandale is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anandale
  • Allen Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Melder, with the one closest to Melder listed first.
    • Pawnee
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Pawnee is located in Allen Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pawnee
    • Mab
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Mab is located in Allen Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mab
    • Elizabeth
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Oakdale
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Marionville ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Marionville is located in Allen Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marionville
    • Reids
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Reids is located in Allen Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reids
    • Ward
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Ward is located in Allen Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ward
    • Bond
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Bond is located in Allen Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bond
    • Grant
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Tenmile
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Tenmile is located in Allen Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tenmile
    • Canton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Canton is located in Allen Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canton
  • Avoyelles Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Melder, with the one closest to Melder listed first.
    • Egg Bend
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Egg Bend is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egg Bend
    • Center Point
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Bunkie
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Bunkie is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunkie
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,826 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bunkie <1>
    • Eola
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Eola is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eola
    • Effie
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Hessmer
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Gold Dust
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Gold Dust is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gold Dust
    • Milburn
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Milburn is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milburn
  • Beauregard Parish
  • Evangeline Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Melder, with the one closest to Melder listed first.
    • Turkey Creek
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Pine Prairie
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Bayou Chicot
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Bayou Chicot is located in Evangeline Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Chicot
    • Saint Landry
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Grant Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Melder, with the one closest to Melder listed first.
    • Fairmount
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Fairmount is located in Grant Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmount
    • Creola
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Creola is located in Grant Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creola
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 216 people
      • Creola has also been known as:
      • Creola village
    • Stay
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Stay is located in Grant Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stay
    • Colfax
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Bentley
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • Natchitoches Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Melder, with the one closest to Melder listed first.
    • Marco
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Marco is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marco
    • Gorum
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Vernon Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Melder, with the one closest to Melder listed first.
    • Leander
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Leander is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leander
    • Lacamp
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Dido
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Dido is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dido
    • Pitkin
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Fullerton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Hicks
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Hicks is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicks
    • Simpson
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Cravens
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Cravens is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cravens
    • Walnut Hill
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Walnut Hill is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Hill
    • Slagle
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Cole Central
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Cole Central is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cole Central

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

Cemeteries Near Melder ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Melder.

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

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

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

  • St. Mark Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Swann Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Barnidge Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Campground Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • St. Peter Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Rougeau Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Stanley Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Elisha Memorial Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Lone Star Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Melder Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Union Hill Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Moore Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (208 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.<3>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Melder had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Elmer
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Hineston
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Milford ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Milford is located in Rapides Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milford
  • Hemphill
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Hemphill is located in Rapides Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hemphill
  • Lamourie
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Lamourie is located in Rapides Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamourie
  • Cora
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Cora is located in Vernon Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cora
  • Lecompte
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Moreland
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Moreland is located in Rapides Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moreland
  • Weil
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Weil is located in Rapides Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weil
  • Crane
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Crane is located in Rapides Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crane
  • Loyd
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Loyd is located in Rapides Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loyd
  • Alexandria
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Rapides
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Rapides is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rapides
    • Pineville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Boyce
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)

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

Newspapers Published in Melder ...

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 35 newspapers that have been published in the area around Melder.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Melder, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Melder.

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 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 Melder:

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