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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 Merrick (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 Merrick. 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 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.

Merrick is located in Pointe Coupee 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 Pointe Coupee Parish: Avoyelles, Concordia, East Baton Rouge, Iberville, Saint Landry, Saint Martin, West Baton Rouge & West Feliciana.

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

  • Pointe Coupee Parish     (The home parish of Merrick)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Merrick, with the one closest to Merrick listed first.
    • Lettsworth
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Legonier
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Legonier is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Legonier
    • Smithland
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Smithland is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smithland
    • Williamsport
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Williamsport is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsport
    • Innis
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Batchelor
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Morganza
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Ravenswood
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Ravenswood is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ravenswood
    • New Roads
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Fordoche
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Dupont
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Patin
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Patin is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patin
    • Ventress
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Avoyelles Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Merrick, with the one closest to Merrick listed first.
    • Simmesport
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Odenburg
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Odenburg is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Odenburg
    • Hamburg
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Bordelonville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Dupont
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Dupont is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dupont
    • Moreauville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Plaucheville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Hickory
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Hickory is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory
    • Cottonport
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Mansura
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Enterprise
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Enterprise is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enterprise
    • Evergreen
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Marksville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
  • Concordia Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Merrick, with the one closest to Merrick listed first.
    • Acme
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Bougere
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Bougere is located in Concordia Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bougere
    • Fairview
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Fairview is located in Concordia Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
    • Armagh
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Armagh is located in Concordia Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armagh
    • Monterey
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Monterey is located in Concordia Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monterey
  • Saint Landry Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Merrick, with the one closest to Merrick listed first.
    • Elba
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Elba is located in Saint Landry Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elba
    • Bayou Jack
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Bayou Jack is located in Saint Landry Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Jack
    • Melville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Palmetto
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Rosa
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Rosa is located in Saint Landry Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosa
    • Half Moon
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Half Moon is located in Saint Landry Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Half Moon
    • Immaculata
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Immaculata is located in Saint Landry Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Immaculata
    • Lebeau
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Morrow
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Swayze Lake
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Swayze Lake is located in Saint Landry Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swayze Lake
    • Boretta
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Boretta is located in Saint Landry Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boretta
  • West Feliciana Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Merrick, with the one closest to Merrick listed first.
    • Angola
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Tunica
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Weyanoke
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Converse ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Converse is located in West Feliciana Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Converse
    • Wakefield
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Bains
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Bains is located in West Feliciana Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bains
    • Saint Francisville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Rogillioville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Rogillioville is located in West Feliciana Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogillioville
  • Wilkinson County (MS)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Merrick, with the one closest to Merrick listed first.
    • Artonish
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Artonish is located in Wilkinson County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Artonish
    • Turnbull
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Turnbull is located in Wilkinson County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turnbull
    • Woodville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)

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

Cemeteries Near Merrick ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Merrick.

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

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

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

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 Merrick had a population of 124 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Legonier
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Legonier is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Legonier
  • Red River Landing
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Red River Landing is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red River Landing
  • Simmesport
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Big Bend
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Big Bend is located in Avoyelles Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Bend
  • Odenburg
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Odenburg is located in Avoyelles Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Odenburg
  • Smithland
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Smithland is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smithland
  • Red Fish
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Red Fish is located in Avoyelles Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Fish
  • Angola
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Rowes Landing
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Rowes Landing is located in West Feliciana Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowes Landing
  • Fort Adams
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Fort Adams is located in Wilkinson County (MS)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Adams
  • Black Hawk
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Black Hawk is located in Concordia Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Hawk
  • Hamburg
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Bordelonville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Bayou Current
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Bayou Current is located in Saint Landry Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Current
    • Pinckneyville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Pinckneyville is located in Wilkinson County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinckneyville

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

Newspapers Published in Merrick ...

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 22 newspapers that have been published in the area around Merrick.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Merrick, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Merrick.

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 Merrick:

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