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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 Melville (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 Melville. 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.

Melville is located in Saint Landry Parish.

To see how the shape of Louisiana's parishes have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following parishes adjoin and form the boundaries of Saint Landry Parish: Acadia, Avoyelles, Evangeline, Lafayette, Pointe Coupee & Saint Martin.

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

  • Saint Landry Parish     (The home parish of Melville)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Melville, with the one closest to Melville listed first.
    • Elba
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Elba. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elba
      • Elba is located in Saint Landry Parish
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Elba
      • From Melville to Elba
    • Half Moon
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Swayze Lake
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Palmetto
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Palmetto have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmetto
      • Palmetto is located in Saint Landry Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 156 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Palmetto <3>
    • Krotz Springs
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Krotz Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Krotz Springs
      • Krotz Springs is located in Saint Landry Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,157 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Krotz Springs <3>
    • Immaculata
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Immaculata have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Immaculata
      • Immaculata is located in Saint Landry Parish
    • Lebeau
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lebeau have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lebeau
      • Lebeau is located in Saint Landry Parish
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lebeau <3>
    • Port Barre
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Bayou Jack
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Rosa
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Washington
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Portage
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Portage have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portage
      • Portage is located in Saint Landry Parish
    • Leonville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Avoyelles Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Melville, with the one closest to Melville listed first.
    • Odenburg
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Odenburg. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Odenburg
      • Odenburg is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Odenburg
      • From Melville to Odenburg
    • Simmesport
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Simmesport have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simmesport
      • Simmesport is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,032 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Simmesport <3>
    • Dupont
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Plaucheville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plaucheville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plaucheville
      • Plaucheville is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 228 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Plaucheville <3>
    • Hickory
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Hamburg
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Cottonport
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Evergreen
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Evergreen have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen
      • Evergreen is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 287 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Evergreen <3>
    • Moreauville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moreauville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moreauville
      • Moreauville is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 849 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moreauville <3>
    • Enterprise
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Gold Dust
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Gold Dust. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gold Dust
      • Gold Dust is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Gold Dust
      • From Melville to Gold Dust
    • Bordelonville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
    • Mansura
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • East Baton Rouge Parish
    • Port Hudson
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Port Hudson. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Hudson
      • Port Hudson is located in East Baton Rouge Parish
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Port Hudson
      • From Melville to Port Hudson
  • Iberville Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Melville, with the one closest to Melville listed first.
    • Maringouin
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maringouin have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maringouin
      • Maringouin is located in Iberville Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 966 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Maringouin <3>
    • Rosedale
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rosedale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosedale
      • Rosedale is located in Iberville Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 729 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rosedale <3>
    • Grosse Tete
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grosse Tete have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grosse Tete
      • Grosse Tete is located in Iberville Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 619 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Grosse Tete <3>
  • Lafayette Parish
  • Pointe Coupee Parish
  • Saint Martin Parish
  • West Baton Rouge Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Melville, with the one closest to Melville listed first.
    • Erwinville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Arbroth
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Carey
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Devalls
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Wilbert ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wilbert have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilbert
      • Wilbert is located in West Baton Rouge Parish
  • West Feliciana Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Melville, with the one closest to Melville listed first.
    • Tunica
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tunica have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunica
      • Tunica is located in West Feliciana Parish
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tunica <3>
    • Angola
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Saint Francisville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Francisville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Francisville
      • Saint Francisville is located in West Feliciana Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,589 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint Francisville <3>
    • Weyanoke
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Converse ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Converse have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Converse
      • Converse is located in West Feliciana Parish
    • Wakefield
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Melville ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Melville.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

  • Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Midway Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Midway Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Midway Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • New Light Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the New Light Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the New Light Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Zion Travelers Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Lower Latenache Church Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lower Latenache Church Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lower Latenache Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Atchafalaya Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Atchafalaya Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Atchafalaya Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bright Morning Star Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bright Morning Star Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bright Morning Star Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Macedonia Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Macedonia Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Macedonia Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Mark Baptist Church Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Morning Star Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Morning Star Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Morning Star Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mt. Airy Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Airy Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Airy Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Ann Catholic Church Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (150 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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Melville had a population of 361 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Melville had a population of 1,023 people.

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

  • Ravenswood
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ravenswood. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ravenswood
    • Ravenswood is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Ravenswood
    • From Melville to Ravenswood
  • Elba
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Elba. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elba
    • Elba is located in Saint Landry Parish
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Elba
    • From Melville to Elba
  • Viva
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Viva have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Viva
    • Viva is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
  • Bayou Current
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bayou Current have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Current
    • Bayou Current is located in Saint Landry Parish
  • Palmetto
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Palmetto have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmetto
    • Palmetto is located in Saint Landry Parish
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 156 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Palmetto <3>
  • Fordoche
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Raccourci ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Raccourci have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raccourci
    • Raccourci is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
  • Livonia
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Port Barre
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Smithland
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Smithland. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smithland
    • Smithland is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Smithland
    • From Melville to Smithland
  • Odenburg
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Odenburg. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Odenburg
    • Odenburg is located in Avoyelles Parish
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Odenburg
    • From Melville to Odenburg
  • Rosa
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • New Roads
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Pointe Coupee
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pointe Coupee have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pointe Coupee
      • Pointe Coupee is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
    • Red River Landing
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Red River Landing have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red River Landing
      • Red River Landing is located in Pointe Coupee Parish

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

Newspapers Published in Melville ...

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 1 newspapers that have been published in the area around Melville.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Melville, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Melville.

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 Melville:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Melville. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for State of Louisiana: https://www.louisiana.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<2>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>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.
<5>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 from Point A (ie- Melville) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Melville. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 30.6946, Longitude: -91.7438    
<6>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 Melville, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025