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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 Melrose (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 Melrose. 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 southeast 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 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 east 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.

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

  • Natchitoches Parish     (The home parish of Melrose)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Melrose, with the one closest to Melrose listed first.
    • Derry
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Derry is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derry
    • Cloutierville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Natchez
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Flora
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Gorum
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Natchitoches
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Marco
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Marco is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marco
    • Bellwood
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Bellwood is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellwood
    • Provencal
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Clarence
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Forest
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Forest is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest
    • Victoria
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Victoria is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Victoria
  • Grant Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Melrose, with the one closest to Melrose listed first.
    • Montgomery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Colfax
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Fairmount
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Fairmount is located in Grant Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmount
    • Black Creek ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Black Creek is located in Grant Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Creek
    • Dry Prong
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Bentley
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Stay
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Stay is located in Grant Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stay
    • Creola
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • 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
  • Rapides Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Melrose, with the one closest to Melrose listed first.
    • Flatwoods
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Lena
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Mora
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Rock
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Rock is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock
    • Zimmerman
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Zimmerman is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zimmerman
    • Boyce
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Hot Wells
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • 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
    • Gardner
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Sieper
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Otis
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Red River Parish
    • Lake End
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Lake End is located in Red River Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake End
  • Sabine Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Melrose, with the one closest to Melrose listed first.
    • Corleyville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Corleyville is located in Sabine Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corleyville
    • Fisher
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Florien
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
    • Many
      (30 miles [48.3 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>
  • Vernon Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Melrose, with the one closest to Melrose listed first.
    • Alco
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Alco is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alco
    • Kurthwood
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Simpson
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Hicks
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Hicks is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicks
    • Slagle
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Walnut Hill
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Walnut Hill is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Hill
    • Lacamp
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Winn Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Melrose, with the one closest to Melrose listed first.
    • Saint Maurice
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Couley
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Couley is located in Winn Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Couley
    • Atlanta
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Whitford
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Whitford is located in Winn Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitford
    • Coldwater
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Coldwater is located in Winn Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coldwater
    • Calvin
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Winnfield
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Bethlehem
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Bethlehem is located in Winn Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethlehem

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

Cemeteries Near Melrose ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Melrose.

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

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

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

  • Creola Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Russell Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Union Grove Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Camel Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Pleasant Hill Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Emanuel Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • St. Simon Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Lee Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Weaver Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Downden Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Botton Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Vascocu Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (166 more) ...
    • Bayou Blue Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Roberts Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Bay Spring Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)

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>

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

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

  • Derry
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Derry is located in Natchitoches Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derry
  • Cloutierville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Bermuda
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Bermuda is located in Natchitoches Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bermuda
  • Cypress
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Cypress is located in Natchitoches Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cypress
  • Montgomery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Chopin
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Chopin is located in Natchitoches Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chopin
  • Mount Zion
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Mount Zion is located in Winn Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
  • Gorum
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Saint Maurice
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Natchitoches
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Bellwood
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Bellwood is located in Natchitoches Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellwood
  • Lena
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Provencal
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Trichell
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Trichell is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trichell
    • Clarence
      (15 miles [24.1 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 Melrose. See our List of 1890's Communities around Melrose.

Newspapers Published in Melrose ...

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 33 newspapers that have been published in the area around Melrose.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Melrose, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Melrose.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with 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 Melrose:

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 drawn from Point A (ie- Melrose) 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 Melrose, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.